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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25947541">tales of reverie</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/cattonsanders/pseuds/cattonsanders'>cattonsanders</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Sanders Sides (Web Series)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders Being Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Fluff and Angst, Hospitals, M/M, Mild Language, Minor Violence, also I know logan is tagged in this because he's important but he's also barely in it, coma mention, elliott is only mentioned a few times, everyone is sympathetic, though the antagonists for each arc are morally grey</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 07:13:35</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>39,427</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25947541</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/cattonsanders/pseuds/cattonsanders</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Roman loves to read bedtime stories to his kids (even if Virgil says he’s grown out of them), but soon Patton and Virgil discover that the story book their dad has been reading to them is actually a portal to the very kingdom they’ve been told about- not only that, but their dad is the prince! </p><p>What else will they find as they venture deeper into this new world they’ve found themselves in, and what other, much darker secrets are being kept from them?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders/Logic | Logan Sanders, Thomas Sanders/Sleep | Remy Sanders</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>52</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Storytime! 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>this is my first time posting on ao3 and also the longest fic I've ever written, so sorry if there's any mistakes!! hope you enjoy! &lt;3</p><p>thank you to  <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/SuperMagicalWizard">SuperMagicalWizard</a> for beta-ing this for me!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Patton and Virgil sat side by side on the couch, Virgil typing away on his laptop trying to get an assignment done and Patton playing with two of his favourite stuffed animals. Of course, they were all his favourite, but these were two of his </span>
  <em>
    <span>favourite </span>
  </em>
  <span>favourites. His head perked up as he heard the front door open. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Dad’s home!” Patton yelled, placing his two stuffed animals down carefully beside him before jumping off the couch.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Virgil barely lifted his head until the scent of food drifted into the living room. He sniffed. “Is that pizza?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Their father Roman lightly kicked the door shut behind him, a briefcase in one hand, pizza box in the other, and a laptop bag slung over his shoulder. Patton, ever the helpful seven-year-old that he was, eagerly took the briefcase from his father’s hands. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you, Patton sweetheart. You got it?” Roman asked, glancing down to make sure the briefcase wasn’t too heavy for him. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh-huh!” Patton affirmed, although he was barely able to hold it up for more than a few seconds at a time before having to rest it on the ground as he waddled forward. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Roman quickly placed the pizza down in the kitchen before retrieving his briefcase from Patton’s tiny, struggling hands. “Won’t be a moment!” Roman called, and then disappeared upstairs to put the rest of his things away. Patton, meanwhile, sat down where Virgil was already waiting at the kitchen table.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Wow, he was actually home on time today,” Virgil muttered. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“With pizza!” Patton exclaimed, unphased by the sarcastic undertones of Virgil’s voice.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A few moments later, Roman joined them at the table. “Alright boys. Pizza time!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As they ate, Roman listened intently as Patton rambled on about his day. Beyond simply finding it endearing, he was secretly grateful for how Patton filled the silence. Roman wasn’t sure if he could stand silence for too long these days. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As Patton took a bite of pizza, Roman took the opportunity to address his other son. “How about you, Virgil? How was your day?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It was fine. It was school.” Virgil, though only twelve years old, was already starting to take on typical teenager mannerisms. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Got to school on time?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ate lunch?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yup.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Done your homework?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Working on it.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“How’s your boyfriend?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“My boyfr- </span>
  <em>
    <span>Dad!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Virgil groaned. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Roman gave a triumphant laugh. “So there </span>
  <em>
    <span>is </span>
  </em>
  <span>a boy!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Virgil covered his face. “No! No there isn’t! Stop doing that!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Roman gave him a playful nudge. “Relax, I’m joking!” He leaned towards Virgil with a serious expression. “But if there is a boy, I’d be the first to know, right?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Patton chimed in. “Nooo, Virgil has to tell </span>
  <em>
    <span>me </span>
  </em>
  <span>first!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Virgil grabbed another slice of pizza and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I’m not telling either of you.” He paused. “...But if I did, I would tell Pat first.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Patton cheered while Roman placed an indignant hand to his chest and gasped. “Betrayed, by my own family no less! Has it really come to this? My own sons, keeping secrets from me?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Patton giggled at Roman’s dramatics, and though he was trying to hide it Roman could see a smile creeping onto Virgil’s face as well. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Good</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Roman thought. These moments had been far and few between over the past year, and Roman cherished any moment the three of them could smile together. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Before long, all of the pizza had vanished from the box and Virgil disappeared upstairs into his bedroom. Patton and Roman stayed in the living room for a while longer, until Patton began to fall asleep on the couch. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Roman smiled at him fondly, pushing aside the papers he was working on and standing up. “Come on, little prince. Time for bed.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Patton gave a sleepy nod, before rolling off the couch and onto his feet. He followed Roman up the stairs, only pausing outside his bedroom door to tap Roman on the back. Roman looked down at him expectantly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Can you read a story from the book?” Patton asked, his voice muffled through a stifled yawn. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Roman perked up. “Oh! Why, of course little prince! How about this? You go and get ready for bed, and I’ll go find my storybook.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Patton gave a tired nod, before wandering off to the bathroom. Roman, meanwhile, went to his study to retrieve the book. He didn’t keep it with Patton and Virgil’s other books, as this particular one was very special to him. He had owned it since he was a child, and had spent many a day immersed in it. He picked it up from its usual spot on the shelf, then turned it over in his hand a few times.  It was a beautiful book. The soft purple cover was embellished with gold flourishes and had a keyhole in the centre of it, and a long red ribbon that acted as a bookmark was wedged between its pages. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>His eyes drifted down to his desk, where a family photo sat front and center. There they all were, a family happy and complete. Roman, Patton, Virgil and…</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Logan,” Roman said in barely a whisper. Though he’d only seen him at the hospital a few short hours ago, he sorely missed being able to converse with his husband. Sitting next to Logan’s hospital bed and holding his hand, talking to him as if he hadn’t been asleep for a year was the closest he got these days. It just wasn’t the same.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Down the hall, he heard the water turning off, which was a good indication that Patton had finished brushing his teeth and was now ready for bed. He pulled himself away from the moment and left with the storybook in his hand. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He found Patton eagerly awaiting him in his bed, freshly changed into his blue, heart-spotted pyjamas. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Now, which story would you like to hear, Patton?” Roman asked, already flipping through the pages. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“The one about the Dragon Witch!” Patton said confidently.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Roman smiled. “Aaaah, the Dragon Witch, hmm? We seem to read that one a lot! It is a good one though, it used to be your brother’s favourite too.” Patton snuggled further into his blankets as Roman began reading. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“In a castle, long before a young prince ruled over the land, there lived a Dragon Witch…”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As Roman read Patton the story, he acted out each scene dramatically, complete with silly voices and wild gestures. Patton seemed absolutely mesmerised. Story time had always been one of Roman’s favourite things to do with his kids, but even more so now that he didn’t have as much time for acting. At some point during the reading, he saw Virgil watching from the doorway, but said nothing so as not to scare him away. It warmed Roman’s heart to know that his kids still enjoyed this as much as he did. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Finally Roman reached the end of story, which was just as well because Patton was barely able to keep his eyes open. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>And, with the Dragon Witch banished from the kingdom, the brave young boy was crowned as the people’s champion, and as the new prince of Reverie. But that was only the beginning of his adventures, for there were many more to come…” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Roman switched back from his narrator voice to his normal speaking voice. “And that’s all for tonight, my little prince!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Patton pouted in protest. “Nooo, one more? Please?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Roman chuckled and shook his head. “No, I don’t think you’ll be able to stay awake for another story. Besides, I’m sure you’re ready to have your own adventures while you dream!” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Virgil slip out from the doorway and head back to his own room.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Patton didn’t seem entirely convinced, but he didn’t protest anymore. “Okay…” he said, a little disappointment seeping into his voice. “Can you sing me goodnight?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Roman smiled, then kneeled beside Patton’s bed. He began to sing </span>
  <em>
    <span>A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes, </span>
  </em>
  <span>a song he’d always had a soft spot for. He was grateful that his kids seemed to like Disney movies as much as he did (as much as Virgil liked to nitpick them). Patton snuggled into his blankets, Roman’s soft voice lulling him to sleep. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Roman finished the song and kissed Patton on his forehead. “Sleep well.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>----</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The next evening, Roman was home late from work, so Virgil took care of making dinner for Patton and himself. The afternoon had been spent with the boys doing their homework, supervised by their babysitter Elliot. Virgil didn’t feel like </span>
  <em>
    <span>he </span>
  </em>
  <span>needed a babysitter, but luckily they were pretty cool and left Virgil in his room for the most part while they helped Patton with his homework.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>After a successful dinner (Virgil counted any time he didn’t burn the house down as a success), he and Patton watched TV for a while to occupy themselves. Virgil glanced at the clock hanging on the wall. His dad should be home soon, but it was getting close to Patton’s bedtime. He grabbed the remote and switched the TV off. Patton whined in protest.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay Pat, time for bed,” Virgil said firmly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Nooo, five more minutes?” Patton pleaded. “I’m not even tired!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Virgil sighed. It was gonna be like that tonight, huh? “Nope, it’s a school night. Dad isn’t home yet, so I’m still in charge. And I say it’s time for bed.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Patton didn’t seem to have any intention of moving. “But I don’t wanna!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Virgil through his hands up in mock-resignation. “Alright, fine! Have it your way! I guess I’ll just go read your bedtime stories without you.” He slowly starting walking away from Patton towards the stairs. “Here I go, off to read stories on my own! Too bad you’re not gonna be there.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Patton hadn’t gotten up yet, but Virgil could hear him getting restless on the couch. His plan was working. He’d barely put one foot on the stairs before the thudding of small feet came running after him. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait!” Patton called. “I’m here!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Virgil couldn’t help but let out a snort. “I thought you weren’t tired?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not, but…” Patton played with the hem of his shirt. “Don’t read without me!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The rest of the bedtime routine went a lot smoother. Patton still didn’t seem to be tired, but he didn’t put up too much of a fuss. Virgil retrieved his dad’s storybook out of his study, then went into Patton’s room and sat on the edge of the bed. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright, which one-” he started to ask, but he didn’t get far before…</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Dragon Witch, Dragon Witch!” Patton cut in loudly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Virgil held up his hand in defense. “Okay, geez, Dragon Witch.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Patton giggled and muttered an excited “Dragon Witch” under his breath. Virgil didn’t read it with as much enthusiasm as his dad did, but Patton still seemed to enjoy it. Before too long they’d reached the end of the story. Virgil started to close the book, but Patton had other ideas.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Again!” he shouted. “Read it again! Please?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Virgil raised an eyebrow. “Uh, no. You gotta sleep now.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Patton crossed his arms. “But I’m not tired! Again?” He made a reach for the book, but Virgil held it out of his reach. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Dude, no,” Virgil said, the arm with the book still held up in the air. Patton pouted and stretched his arm a little further. “Hey! No. Sleep.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Patton withdrew his outstretched arm. “Are you gonna sing me goodnight?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Virgil groaned internally. He didn’t really like singing. “Yeah, uh… about that... I think my singing would give you nightmares, so I’m gonna hold off on that. How about you just try and sleep, okay?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Patton considered it for a second, throwing another glance at the book. “Okay… but I’m not-”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, yeah, I know, you’re not tired.” Virgil got up from the bed, still keeping a firm grasp on the book in case Patton made a dive for it. He walked over to the doorway and put a hand on the lightswitch. “Night, Pat.” He flicked the lightswitch off.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Night night, Virge!” Patton called from his bed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Virgil closed the door behind him, hoping Patton would fall asleep before long. He dropped the storybook off in his dad’s study before returning to his room. He had to get tired eventually, right?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Patton did not. After about ten long minutes of trying to fall asleep, he decided to take matters into his own hands. As quietly as he could, he slipped out of bed and opened his bedroom door. If nobody was gonna read that story for him again, then he’d just have to read it himself! He tiptoed over to his dad’s study and pushed the door open with a creak. Patton hoped Virgil hadn’t heard it, but he’d come too far now to stop. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He spotted the book on a shelf above his dad’s desk. Even as a growing boy, he still couldn’t quite reach it, even on his tippy toes. He pulled out the swivel chair that was pushed into the desk and stood up on it. It wasn’t completely steady, as it moved beneath his feet, but still he reached for the book. His fingers managed to grab the top of the spine, so he pulled. The book came out, but unfortunately other books came out with it and crashed loudly onto the desk. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Patton winced and held his breath. He heard his brother’s bedroom door open. Uh oh. He looked down at the mess he’d made, then back at the book in his hand. There was a keyhole on the front of it. His eyes drifted around Roman’s desk, until his eyes landed on a key sitting next to a family photo. Keyhole… key… wait! He sat down on the chair, then picked up the key and lined it up with the keyhole. What if…?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Unfortunately, at that moment, Virgil appeared in the doorway. “Okay, what the heck did you do? When dad gets home, I’m gonna tell on you.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Patton stared at Virgil with wide eyes. “No, don’t tell! Just wait! I gotta…” He pressed the key into the hole.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Virgil’s expression changed from disgruntled to perplexed. He took a few steps into the room. “What are you…?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Patton turned the key with a </span>
  <em>
    <span>click!</span>
  </em>
  
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Suddenly the room became much brighter as light streamed from the keyhole and started to fill the whole room. Patton and Virgil both stared at the book as the light started to envelop them. It swirled faster and faster, and then all at once it vanished. But when the light was gone, so were the two boys. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>At that moment, Roman arrived home.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The first thing Virgil felt was the ground beneath him. Somehow he had ended up on his back, and he could feel blades of grass poking him through his t-shirt. His eyes were screwed tightly shut. Slowly he relaxed them enough to open them and what he saw was a starry night sky above him. All sorts of alarms were going off in his brain, and they only got louder as he jolted himself up into a sitting position. So there was sky, grass… he seemed to be in some sort of clearing surrounded by trees. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Huh.” That was the only thing he could think to say, considering the last thing he remembered was him being in his house? No, no, after that, there was the book and then… light? Virgil had the feeling he was forgetting something else, but he couldn’t figure out-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Virge!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Something collided with him and knocked him right onto his back again. Well, less of a something and more like a some</span>
  <em>
    <span>one</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey… Pat? What happened?” Virgil asked, still pinned to the ground. “Where are we? Also, you’re kinda crushing me here.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton let go of Virgil. “Sorry! And ummm… oh! I think we’re in the book!” He answered, as if that were a completely normal response. “Neat, huh?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil blinked. “We’re… in the book?” He thought about it for a second. And then for one more second. And then for a few more seconds, before groaning and throwing an arm over his eyes. “Nope. Not doing this. This is just a weird dream. Any second now, I’m gonna wake up in my bed and everything’s gonna be normal.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He lay still for about a minute, Patton sitting quietly next to him and waiting, before he uncovered his head and opened his eyes. The sky and the grass and the trees and his brother were all still there. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil sighed. “I’m not gonna wake up from this, am I?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nope!” Patton replied, far too cheerfully.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil finally sat up again and looked at Patton. “So. We’re in the book, huh? How’d you figure that?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton placed a thoughtful finger on his chin. “Well, I was in dad’s study and I had the book, and there was a keyhole and a key so I just put the key </span>
  <em>
    <span>in </span>
  </em>
  <span>the keyhole, and then you were there and I sorta panicked and turned the key and the thingy with the lights happened and… now we’re outside in a forest somewhere else, so I figured, y’know, we’re in the book!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil stared at him. “That… makes sense. I guess.” He took a deep breath. Okay. They were in the book. In… the book. “Wait, no, no it doesn’t. This is still too weird for me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Awww, c’mon Virge!” Patton said, grabbing his arm and trying to pull him up onto his feet. “Let’s at least have a look around!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil rolled his eyes, but got to his feet anyway. “No point staying here, I guess.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton grinned. “Yeah! That’s the spirit!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The moon provided enough light into the clearing that Virgil could see a path leading into the forest. It was a good place to start as any, he decided, and beckoned for Patton to follow him. His little brother had a habit of running off at times, so Virgil made sure that he didn’t fall behind or get distracted. Not that there was too much to get distracted by, since they couldn’t see very well under the shadows of the trees.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They hadn’t gone into the forest too far when there was a small break in the trees. Virgil was mostly grateful that he had a bit more moonlight to see by, at least for a moment, but then he felt Patton tug his shirt.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Umm... Virgil?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton pointed out to the horizon, and Virgil sucked in a breath when he saw what Patton was referring to. On the hill across from lay a great city with a castle at the very top. What made him shudder was the way it was overgrown, almost… ruined. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Woah,” Virgil breathed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m not sure it’s supposed to look like that… right?” Patton chewed his lip. “The way it sounded when Dad read it, I thought it’d be kinda…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Less destroyed?” Virgil suggested, grimacing. “Less ominous?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Different,” Patton finished quietly. “Is that where we have to go?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil groaned. “I hope not, but… probably, yeah. I don’t think we’re gonna find a way home in this forest.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton stayed quiet for a moment, before he seemed to resolve something within himself and nodded, and the two boys headed out of the clearing and back into the forest. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t long before their path came to a fork, with a road sign pointing towards the castle, though it was overshadowed by something else.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In front of them stood a tall statue of two boys - teenagers, from what Virgil could tell. One of them held a sword pointed up to the sky, head held high and a wide smile on his face. The other one held a mace over his shoulder and was smiling too, though his expression seemed a little more mischievous than the other boy’s. That was one of only a few differences though; the two of them looked almost identical. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Maybe twins?</span>
  </em>
  <span> Virgil thought.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s Dad.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What?” Virgil snapped his head towards Patton, who was kneeling in front of the statue and reading an inscription. “What did you just say?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton looked up at him, eyes wide. “It says so, look!” He pointed at the inscription. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil squatted down next to him and looked at where his brother was pointing. Sure enough, the inscription read </span>
  <em>
    <span>Prince Roman</span>
  </em>
  <span>. That wasn’t the only name written, though. “Who’s… Prince Remus?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton studied the statues carefully. “Dad’s probably the one with the sword, right? So maybe… the other one is Remus?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But who </span>
  <em>
    <span>is</span>
  </em>
  <span> he?” Virgil repeated. “Why does he look just like Dad? And why is there even a statue of Dad here, saying he’s a prince?” His mind raced with similar questions, but he couldn’t come up with any answers that made sense.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, the book we’re in belongs to Dad, so maybe the kingdom does too?” Patton suggested.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil stayed quiet as he thought about it. It made sense, but at the same time </span>
  <em>
    <span>nothing </span>
  </em>
  <span>made sense. He took a deep breath and tried unsuccessfully to push all of the questions out of his mind. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“C’mon Pat, let’s just… keep going, okay?” He took Patton’s smaller hand in his own and led him away from the statue. Whatever the answers were, they weren’t going to find them here. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Although the main road lay outside of the forest, a row of trees on either side of it gave Virgil and Patton shade from the sun as they walked. Virgil felt a strong urge to push onwards, however it wasn’t long before he noticed his little brother beside him yawning. He’d almost forgotten that it had been Patton’s bedtime when they’d left their world, and though they hadn’t been walking long Patton’s yawns became frequent enough that Virgil slowed to a halt and knelt down in front of him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you need to stop for a bit, Pat?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton rubbed his eyes and shrugged. “Maybe for a bit?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil stood up and looked around for a place for them to rest comfortably, but didn’t immediately see anywhere that would be suitable. He sighed, turned around so he was facing away from Patton and crouched down slightly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“C’mon,” Virgil said over his shoulder to Patton, “climb on, I’ll carry you until we find a good place to stop.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton smiled sleepily and let out a happy gasp, pleased about Virgil’s normally rare offer of a piggyback, and jumped up onto Virgil’s back. Virgil stumbled slightly and had to readjust so he had a good, comfortable grip on Patton.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re gonna be too big for this soon, buddy,” Virgil grunted, not remembering Patton being this heavy the last time he’d done this.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton whined in protest at the thought of him being too big for </span>
  <em>
    <span>anything </span>
  </em>
  <span>he enjoyed this much, his arms hanging loosely around Virgil’s neck. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With Virgil carrying Patton, their pace was considerably slower. Virgil kept a keen eye out, not just for a place to rest but also for any danger - this was a completely different world after all, and from what his dad had told him through the stories he’d read to him and Patton there were a lot of things to be careful of.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At last, through the trees Virgil saw a faint light that looked to be coming from a house just off the main road. By this time Virgil’s back, arms and legs were starting to get sore, and Patton was almost asleep, his head drooped against Virgil’s back. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Patton?” Virgil half-whispered to Patton, causing him to raise his head up slightly in response. “Just a little longer bud, looks like there’s a house up ahead. Hopefully they’ll let us stay for a moment, so don’t fall asleep just yet, okay?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton mumbled an “okay” in response, and Virgil forced his tired legs to keep moving. A stranger’s house was admittedly not the safest place he could’ve picked, but Virgil knew it was sure as heck a lot safer than resting on the side of the road in the middle of the night. To keep going wasn’t much of an option either, since Patton was practically asleep and Virgil was feeling pretty exhausted himself. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As he veered off the main path, the lights grew brighter and Virgil got a closer look at the house in question. There was a fence around a front garden, and a stone brick path lined by well-tended flower bushes led to a little cottage. Virgil knocked on the green-painted wooden door and waited, but didn’t hear anyone moving inside as if to come and answer. He hesitated, before knocking a little louder. Still no answer. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil huffed out a sigh, quickly weighed up his options, and opened the door anyway. The lights were on and the door was unlocked, so someone was probably home, right? They were probably sleeping or something, Virgil tried to reason with himself, but still felt nervous as he stepped inside. It was as humble inside as it was on the outside - there was a small kitchen area with a dining table and two chairs, a sitting area with a couch and an armchair across from a still-lit fireplace, and a wooden staircase that led to an upstairs room. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil quietly walked over to the armchair and set Patton down in it, before taking the blanket that was draped over the back of the chair and laying it over him. Patton blinked up at him sleepily.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Just rest there, okay?” Virgil said, giving him a reassuring half-smile. “I’ll have a look around and see if anyone’s home, so-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, what do we have here?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil jumped slightly at the sound of a voice behind him, quickly turning around to see who it came from. He started to stutter out an apology and explain that him and Patton just needed somewhere to rest for a while and then they’d be on their way, but all of that stopped short when he saw who was standing in front of him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was a woman, tall with long red hair, and dressed in an open green robe that was layered over top of a long, black, velvet dress. She also, more alarmingly, had twisted black horns growing out of her head and bright green eyes with slitted pupils. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil had unknowingly just walked him and his brother right into the house of the Dragon Witch. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Roman tried to be as quiet as possible as he came in the front door. The house was quiet. It made sense, Roman thought with a sigh. Patton would definitely be in bed by now, and Virgil was probably up in his room with his headphones on. He never meant to be home so late, but sometimes it just couldn’t be helped. Still, he felt bad for how often it happened. </p><p>He climbed the stairs and dropped his laptop bag and briefcase in his study by his desk. It was then he noticed the storybook lying on the floor. He shook his head fondly. Patton must’ve gotten Virgil to read to him. Part of him must have thought it was strange for it to be on the floor and not on its usual place on the bookshelf, but his mind was more occupied with the thought of checking on his children. As he walked back out and looked down the hall, he frowned. Patton and Virgil’s doors were both open. He checked Patton’s room first. </p><p>Empty. </p><p>That’s fine, he tried to rationalise. Perhaps Patton was just in Virgil’s room. Maybe his brother had let him stay up late, and everything was perfectly fine. Nothing to worry about. But his stomach dropped to his feet when he looked in Virgil’s room to find that, too, was empty. Roman bolted back downstairs, hoping to find some sign that they were still in the house. </p><p>“Patton! Virgil?!” Roman called out, running back upstairs when he found no sign of them downstairs. “Come on, this isn’t funny anymore-” He halted his search outside his study, staring again at the storybook on the floor. The key was in the keyhole. He slowly walked towards the book, as if he was afraid it might come to life. Which, to be fair to Roman, it had done many times in his life before. </p><p>Roman wished the thought of them finding their way into the kingdom of Reverie was more comforting to him. After all, at least he knew where they were now, right? But he hadn’t been there in so long, not since before he’d gone off to college. Not since he’d met Logan. Roman glanced at the family picture on his desk. </p><p>“I’ll bring them home safe, dearest,” Roman spoke to an empty room, placing one hand on the key. “I promise.”</p><p>He held his breath and turned the key. For the second time that night, the room was filled with swirling lights. Roman felt a familiar pull, and in an instant he found himself standing in the forest clearing. He’d done this enough times to land on his feet, but he remembered how his first trip there had started with him landing uncomfortably on his side. He only hoped Patton and Virgil’s entrance hadn’t been as rough. </p><p>Roman took a moment to process where he was. He was back in Reverie. Not in the kingdom itself, sure, but back in this world! He breathed in the fresh air. It felt… good to be back. But he couldn’t dwell on it for too long. His children were waiting for him, and as amazing as Reverie was, Roman knew it could also be dangerous. </p><p>He wished silently that he’d taken a moment to change before jumping into this. His business suit wasn’t exactly the best attire for wandering through a forest in. He pulled off his suit jacket and tied around his waist. Time to start searching.</p><p>He wandered into the forest, following the path and calling out his childrens’ names. The longer he called out, the more futile it felt. Who even knew if they had gone this way? What if something had happened to them and he just couldn’t see them in the dark? But it was all he could think to do. Soon his calling turned to silence and he simply walked, believing no one had heard him. He quickly changed his mind, however, when he heard footsteps.</p><p>A voice spoke from behind him. “Hey, are you lost or something?”</p><p>Roman turned around to face the stranger behind him. “No, I’m not lost, I’m just looking for…” His words died in the throat when he saw who was standing in front of him, their face dimly lit by the lantern they were carrying. “Thomas?”</p><p>Thomas frowned in confusion, studying Roman’s face carefully in the dark. “You were looking for me? Do I know you?” </p><p>“Oh, no I wasn’t looking for you, but I’m so glad to see you! Thomas, it’s me!” He gestured dramatically to himself. Thomas seemed to have a moment of realisation, which Roman hoped was a good thing until Thomas pulled out a sword and pointed it at his chest. “Woah, woah! Thomas it’s Roman!”</p><p>Thomas immediately lowered his sword and his jaw dropped open. “Oh my gosh, Roman? I thought you were- it’s really you?”</p><p>“Yes!” Roman said, laughing as Thomas placed his sword and lantern on the ground and pulled him into a hug. “I’m not sure who you mistook me for, but I’m glad I wasn’t them!”</p><p>“I’m glad you weren’t him either, but gosh,” Thomas pulled back to get a better look at Roman, “it’s so good to see you too. I was just on my way back to my house, so if you wanted to come with me it’d be nice to catch up! Man, it’s been so long! What are you doing here, anyway?”</p><p>Roman had gotten so caught up in the reunion, he had almost forgotten about why he was there. Almost. “Ah… actually, I’m looking for my kids. Their names are Patton and Virgil. They must have figured out the secret to my storybook and ended up here.”</p><p>Thomas’ mouth dropped open. “You have kids?” He took a moment to have a proper look at Roman, looking him up and down. He spoke in a quiet voice. “It really has been a long time, huh?”</p><p>Roman looked away, feeling slightly guilty. “Yes. I’m sorry it’s been so long, things just… happened. A lot of things. I should have come back sooner.”</p><p>Thomas smiled sympathetically. “Hey, it’s okay. You don’t have to apologise for anything. I know this isn’t your home, and I never expected you to stay around forever.” He picked up his sword and put it back in its sheath. “So, your kids. They must be on their way to the castle, right?”</p><p>“Why would they go there?”</p><p>Thomas blinked. “You must’ve told them that that’s how you get home, right?” </p><p>“W-well, uh…” Roman stuttered, “I might have, perhaps, maybe neglected to tell them that?” Thomas gave him a judgemental look that made him blurt out the rest. “And also, uh, possibly that the stories I read to them were true and that, in fact, the prince in those stories was me.”</p><p>Thomas stared at him for a moment, then let out a sigh. “Okay, well that’s… not great.”</p><p>Roman shrugged sheepishly. “Ah… no, you’re right, it’s not.”</p><p>Thomas frowned in thought. “Okay. I might know someone who can help, but it’s kind of a long shot.” He picked his sword back up and sheathed it, then picked up his lantern as well. “Follow me.”</p><p>Roman wasn’t exactly sure where they were going, but he followed anyway. Soon enough they’d left the main path and were traversing through thick forest. </p><p>“Watch your head!” Thomas called back towards Roman, just in time for him to duck under a low hanging branch. </p><p>“So who’s this mysterious person who’s going to help us?” Roman asked as he stepped over a log that was lying across the overgrown path they were following. </p><p>“You remember Remy, right? Well, I’ve kind of been living with him since I was banished, and he’s–”</p><p>“Wait, banished?” Roman stopped dead in his tracks. “What do you mean, banished? Who banished you?! I thought I was supposed to be the only one who could banish people, being the prince and all!” Thomas paused in his tracks, and turned around to look at Roman with an expression he couldn’t quite place. Did he look… sad?</p><p>“You really did forget, didn’t you?” Thomas asked quietly. “It makes sense, since you were gone so long.”</p><p>“What do you mean? What did I forget?” Roman asked, confused.</p><p>“Remus.”</p><p>Roman was a strong believer in the power of words. It was something that him and his husband Logan had bonded over many times, through long conversations and their mutual love of language and poetry. However, Roman had no idea that a single word could have such a physical effect on him. Remus. It caused an ache in his heart and a pain in his head as his thoughts moved so rapidly from ‘why do I know that name?’ to ‘how could I possibly forget?’ as his memories came flooding back. </p><p>“Oh my god, Remus,” Roman breathed. How could he forget his own twin brother? No, he knew how. One of the downsides of being within the storybook was that if you stayed there for more than three days, you would be stuck there forever and the memories that other people had of you would slowly start to fade away. And Remus… well, he’d decided to stay, hadn’t he? Roman remembered that now. “But I… I promised him I would visit him so I wouldn’t forget!”</p><p>Thomas didn’t say anything in response, and instead opted to keep walking. </p><p>Roman felt like he was going to be sick, or cry, or perhaps both. “So- so what, he banished you? For what?!”</p><p>“Things got… pretty bad when you didn’t come back,” Thomas replied, his shoulders hunched. “Remus kind of took it out on the kingdom. He couldn’t even stand anyone saying your name. That’s what got me banished, anyway.”</p><p>Roman’s heart sunk. All of this, just because he hadn’t been there for Remus? He resolved to apologise to Remus the moment he saw him.</p><p>They reached the end of the path, which opened up into a small clearing. In front of them, sitting atop a hill in the middle of the clearing, was a strange house. It had multiple layers to it, forming a towering shape. A few storeys up, a small balcony jutted out, where a man sat across the rail sipping tea out of an oddly tall teacup. </p><p>“Remy!” Thomas shouted up at the man. “We’ve got company!”</p><p>Remy glanced down at the two of them, then took a sip from his cup. “Is it, like, the good kind of company? Or the kind that wants to murder us?”</p><p>“It’s Roman!” Thomas replied, beaming in a way that warmed Roman’s heart.</p><p>Remy didn’t seem so impressed. “Cool, so the murder us kind then?” </p><p>“No, not Remus, Roman!”</p><p>Remy took another sip. </p><p>Thomas let out an exasperated sigh. “Just come down and meet us, okay?”</p><p>“Ugh, fiiiine.” Remy swung his leg back over the rail and disappeared from the balcony into the house. </p><p>“At least some things never change,” Roman muttered as he followed Thomas through the front door. He’d only met Remy a few times before, but he’d always been somewhat of an enigma. His mood seemed to change on a whim, and Roman was never exactly sure whether Remy liked him or not. To be fair, he wasn’t sure if he liked Remy either.</p><p>The inside of the house was just as strange as the outside. It was a disorganised mess, with teacups scattered in every corner of the room (some in precarious positions that Roman was sure would fall with only so much as a gentle breeze). </p><p>“So babe,” Remy said as he appeared at the top of the winding staircase that Roman assumed led to the upper levels. Remy leaned against the bannister. “You sure this is him?”</p><p>“Yeah, but uh… well,” Thomas scratched the back of his head. “There might be another problem. Think you could help?”</p><p>“Mmmm… Depends what it is.” Remy took another sip. </p><p>Roman was starting to get impatient. “It’s my children, alright? They're out there somewhere by themselves and we need to find them!”</p><p>Remy choked on his tea, spitting half a mouthful of tea back into his cup. “Y-your what now?” Out of the corner of his eye, Roman thought he saw Thomas mouth ‘I know, right?’</p><p>Roman gave an exasperated sigh. “Look, is it really so unbelievable that I’m a parent?! I’m not that irresponsible! I just need to find my kids! That I… don’t know the exact whereabouts of… because I lost them... i-irresponsibly…” </p><p>Remy raised an eyebrow, and Roman could feel the guilt creeping up on him again when he felt Thomas put a hand on his shoulder. </p><p>“Please, Remy,” Thomas pleaded softly. “They’re just kids.”</p><p>Remy gave a long, drawn out groan. “Uuuugh…” He placed his teacup precariously at the top of the bannister, before slinking his way down the stairs to where Thomas and Roman were standing. He gave Thomas a peck on the cheek. “Only because you asked so nicely, babe. So, what was it you wanted me to do?”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Virgil stood frozen in place, heart racing in his chest as he stared at the Dragon Witch. Why, </span>
  <em>
    <span>why </span>
  </em>
  <span>of all houses did he have to pick this one? The Dragon Witch started stepping towards him and he backed up a little so he was standing closer to Patton. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Patton, maybe we should uh, </span>
  <em>
    <span>go</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” Virgil suggested, failing to keep his voice from shaking. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, there’s no need for that,” the Dragon Witch said calmly, pulling out one of the chairs that were set around the kitchen table and sitting down on it. She bared her fangs in a polite smile. “I don’t bite.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil wasn’t entirely sure if he believed her, keeping a close eye on her in case she tried to attack them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Dragon Witch’s eyes narrowed back at him, still smiling but no longer showing her teeth. “Besides, there are things out there that are much more of a danger to you than I am, so you may as well take after your little brother over there and take a seat.” She gestured over to the empty couch beside the fireplace.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil knew she probably had a point, but watched her carefully as he sat down on the couch. The couch itself was pretty comfortable, probably a little </span>
  <em>
    <span>too </span>
  </em>
  <span>comfortable as Virgil felt himself relax into it. He made a mental note to try and not fall asleep there. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Comfortable?” The Dragon Witch asked with a smug grin, as if she knew what Virgil had been thinking. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I guess,” Virgil grumbled. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Dragon Witch chuckled. “You should relax a little, I’m not going to do anything to you. You’re safe here.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil snorted. “Yeah, sure. You’re the Dragon Witch, it’s not like you’re evil or anything.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mmm,” the Dragon Witch hummed in thought. “I wouldn’t really describe myself as evil, though I will be the first to admit that once I set my mind on something there’s very little anyone can do to stop me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What about the prince?” Patton, who Virgil had thought would be asleep by now, piped up sleepily. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah yes, the prince,” the Dragon Witch mused in an almost nostalgic tone, propping her arm up on the table and rested her head against her palm. “I’m assuming you’re referring to Prince Roman, who managed to defeat me, dethrone me and banish me all in one day? And not to Prince Remus who, while he may have played a role in that, is hardly better than I am? Nowadays, anyway.” She sighed. “If you </span>
  <em>
    <span>do </span>
  </em>
  <span>mean Prince Roman, then yes, he does count as one of those few things that could stand in my way. When he was around, that is.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil almost hesitated to ask further, but he’d had several burning questions on his mind since him and Patton had stumbled across the statue in the woods. “What, uh… what’s the deal with them, anyway?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That caught the Dragon Witch’s attention and she lifted her head slightly. “What do you mean by that, exactly?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil scratched the back of his neck. “I guess I mean, Prince Roman and Prince Remus… who are they?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Dragon Witch looked him over carefully, as if trying to piece something together. Whatever she’d been thinking, she kept it to herself and spoke. “The princes were two twin brothers who used to rule over Reverie for a time. They were only boys at the time, but they certainly were… spirited? And loud, very loud. They would wander and bicker and generally make a nuisance of themselves. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then one day, Roman disappeared and never came back, and Remus became somewhat of a tyrant as a result.” The Dragon Witch laid back in her chair. “It’s not really my concern since I was banished so long ago and haven’t set foot within the city walls since, but I always did wonder what happened to Prince Roman.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil watched the flames dancing in the fireplace. That answered some questions, sure, but it still didn’t answer one of his biggest ones - why had their dad never told him and Patton all this?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I have to say, it is very strange,” the Dragon Witch began, pulling Virgil out of his thoughts, “to find someone who hasn’t heard of Roman and Remus. Where exactly did you two come from?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uh…” Virgil wasn’t really sure how to answer that. Would she believe that they were from another world? He decided to dodge the question. “I’ve… heard of Roman, ‘cause he’s… our dad?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Dragon Witch leaned forward. “Oh? Now </span>
  <em>
    <span>that’s </span>
  </em>
  <span>interesting.” She tilted her head in thought. “So you’re both… oh, you have come a long way, haven’t you? That does explain a few things.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil felt worry starting to settle in the pit of his stomach, feeling like he might have said too much. This was the Dragon Witch he was talking to, his dad’s apparent arch nemesis, and he’d just confessed that both he and Patton were his </span>
  <em>
    <span>kids.</span>
  </em>
  <span> He felt himself shrink back into the couch defensively.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is he with you, then?” The Dragon Witch asked in a casual tone. “It’s been such a long time since I’ve seen your father, and I’d hate for him to stumble across this little meeting and get the wrong idea.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil bit his lip. If he said yes, that might put her on edge, but if he said no then she would know that Roman wasn’t there to protect them. Still, she was looking at him expectantly for an answer, and he decided lying wouldn’t do them a lot of good. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The, uh, thing is we didn’t really mean to come here in the first place?” Virgil huffed. “Didn’t even know this place was </span>
  <em>
    <span>real </span>
  </em>
  <span>until today,” he mumbled under his breath.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Dragon Witch hummed. “Now there’s a familiar story. Most of the children who have passed through here before you came stumbling in, including your father and your uncle.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil heard movement over to the right of him, and looked over to see Patton settling in his sleep. Virgil was feeling pretty tired himself, and stifled a yawn with the back of his hand. He pulled his legs up off the floor and curled up into the couch. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Dragon Witch smiled at him, and stood up from her chair. “I’ll leave you to get some rest, shall I? You have my word that you and your brother are safe to sleep here. You might think I’m ‘evil’, but I’m very good at keeping my promises.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil wanted to protest, but the beckon of sleep was pulling his eyes shut. He took one last glance at Patton, sleeping soundly on the armchair across with him, then felt himself drift off to sleep.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He then started to dream.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Not like the dreams he normally had, dreams that had… </span>
  <em>
    <span>things </span>
  </em>
  <span>in them. No, this time he was dreaming that he was in a weird, dark, void-like place. In the dark, he almost thought he could see colours moving slowly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, you’re one of Roman’s kids, right?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil turned around to find he wasn’t alone in the dream. A man he’d never seen before was standing in front of him. He wore shades over his eyes, and had a long black coat with white flowers embroidered into it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The man lifted up his shades slightly to peer at Virgil. “What, are you just gonna stare at me? C’mon, lemme know if I got the right kid!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil snapped out of his trance. “Oh, uh, yeah that’s my dad, but who are you-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh thank god.” The man put his shades back down. “Okay, so I’m Remy and basically my boyfriend is friends with your dad and he’s pretty worried about you sooo I’ve just hopped into your dreams to check on you, make sure you’re alive, that kind of thing. So, which kid are you again? Patton or... Virgil, is that what Roman said your names are?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Virgil.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, so Virgil, first thing’s first - where did you end up falling asleep?” Remy asked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil rubbed the back of his neck. “We kind of ended up at the Dragon Witch’s house somehow?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remy made a face of disgust. “Seriously? Yeesh, I thought your dad was the king of bad choices, but somehow you’ve just taken the crown with that one. So, step one, get the heck out of that nasty place as soon as you wake up, mmkay? Then you’re gonna want to head for the castle, but from what I hear that place is pretty messed up, so wait outside the city gates until your dad and my boyfriend Thomas show up. Last thing, in case things don’t work out and you end up being here for more than an overnight stay, you’ve gotta get out of here and back to your own world before the end of your third day here or else you’re gonna be stuck forever. Now, you’re nodding at everything I’m saying but I get that it’s a lot, so repeat what I just said so I know you’re not gonna forget it as soon as you wake up.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Leave the dragon witch’s house as soon as I wake up…” Virgil repeated.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uh-huh?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Go to the city gates but don’t go in until dad shows up…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mhm, and?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And don’t stay longer than three days or we’ll be stuck forever?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remy nodded. “Good job kid. Aaand your REM cycle’s about to end, so I gotta head out. Don’t do that thing that some people do where they forget the dream as soon as they wake up, okay? Bye!” With that, Remy threw up a peace sign and disappeared. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil could feel himself waking up, and took the last few moments of his dream to commit what Remy had said to memory. As his eyes slowly opened, he could feel a slight ache in his back from where he’d been sleeping in an awkward position on the couch. He lifted his head to look around and check if the Dragon Witch was anywhere close by, and when he decided it was safe he quietly got to his feet and crept over to Patton.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Patton,” Virgil whispered, shaking him gently. “C’mon, we’ve gotta go.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton whined as he opened his eyes, clearly not ready to be awake just yet. “Virg’l? What time issit?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil glanced up and checked through the window. “It’s still night time, but we’ve gotta get going, okay?” He looked quickly over his shoulder, making sure the coast was still clear. “I had a weird dream that I’ll tell you about on the way. We shouldn’t have stayed this long, anyway.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Still sleepy,” Patton mumbled, lifting his glasses up to rub his eyes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know, me too buddy,” Virgil sighed, taking Patton’s hand and pulling him gently to his feet. “We can sleep when we get home, okay?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton nodded and yawned. Virgil kept hold of Patton’s hand and held a finger to his own lips as a signal for Patton to stay quiet. Taking one last look around, Virgil crept with Patton towards the door and pulled it open as quietly as he could. The two brothers step out into the night air again. Virgil pulled the door shut behind them with a gentle </span>
  <em>
    <span>click! </span>
  </em>
  <span>and breathed a sigh of relief, glad to finally be away from-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And where do you two think you’re sneaking off to in such a hurry?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil whipped around to see the Dragon Witch standing between them and the gate that led out of the garden, throwing all hopes of a clean escape out the window. He held Patton’s hand a little tighter.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thanks for letting us stay here, but we’re leaving,” Virgil said firmly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Dragon Witch let out a sinister laugh. “Oh, I think I’ll be deciding when you leave.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil glared at her. “But you said we’d be safe if we-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I said you were both safe to </span>
  <em>
    <span>sleep </span>
  </em>
  <span>here,” the Dragon Witch said, baring her fangs with a grin. “I didn’t say anything about what would happen when you woke up though, did I?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You tricked us?” Patton asked, sticking closely to Virgil’s side.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I did, didn’t I?” The Dragon Witch smiled with fake sympathy. “Too bad. I’ve been waiting a long time for a chance to get revenge on Prince Roman.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She sighed. “But since he’s not here, I suppose his children will have to do!”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Roman paced anxiously as him and Thomas waited for Remy to wake up. It had been almost an hour since Remy had agreed to try and find Patton and Virgil with his dreamwalking ability, but Roman was starting to have doubts about whether this would actually work or not. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Like I said, it’s a long shot,” Thomas had said after explaining his idea to both Roman and Remy, “but they’re kids, right? They’re bound to tire themselves out eventually.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thinking back on the nights when it had been almost impossible to get Patton to fall asleep, Roman wasn’t sure how true that was, but he didn’t have any better ideas. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ugh, how long is this going to take?!” Roman asked for the third time that hour.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thomas sighed. “Be patient Roman, it might take a while for him to- oh, I think he’s waking up!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman looked over to where Remy had been sleeping on the bed, and sure enough he rolled over onto his back and opened his eyes. He looked over to where Roman and Thomas were waiting next to his bed, specifically at Thomas. A flirtatious smile spread across Remy’s lips.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well good </span>
  <em>
    <span>morning, </span>
  </em>
  <span>handsome,” he said, causing Thomas to let out an exasperated sigh, though Roman could see he was smiling too.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, alright, did you manage to find them?” Roman asked impatiently. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Gimme a sec to wake up,” Remy said, before sitting up in his bed. He did a good stretch and grabbed the shades next to his bed, slipping them back onto his face. Roman wasn’t sure exactly </span>
  <em>
    <span>why </span>
  </em>
  <span>it was so important for him to wear them at night, indoors. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, so there’s good news and bad news,” Remy explained. “The good news is I found Virgil and I talked to him. He and Patton are both fine… well, kind of.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Kind of? What do you mean, kind of?!” Roman demanded.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remy slid off the bed and stood up. “Well, they’re at the Dragon Witch’s house, so-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>What?!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Roman and Thomas both shouted at once.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wow, okay chill, I told Virgil to get out of there as soon as he woke up, so it’s probably fine right? Anyway, I also told him to meet you two outside the city gates just like you said, so y’know. You’re welcome.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman breathed out shakily. “Oh my stars Thomas, we have to go </span>
  <em>
    <span>right </span>
  </em>
  <span>now.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right, yeah, okay,” Thomas agreed, running a hand through his hair. “You sure you don’t wanna get changed into something more comfortable before we go? Just in case we have to, uh…” He patted his sword and gave Roman a half-shrug. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman looked down in his suit. Thomas had a point, if he tried to fight in that he would definitely tear something, and it wasn’t the most comfortable for moving around in. He sighed. “Fine, just let me borrow something of yours since we don’t have a lot of time.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thomas rummaged through his drawers, pulling out a few things he thought would suit Roman - a white tunic, a red embroidered vest, some white pants and a pair of black leather boots. Roman quickly changed into them, grateful that everything fit relatively well considering him and Thomas were roughly the same size. To complete his outfit, Thomas also handed him one of his spare Reverie red guard uniform cloaks. Roman threw it over himself and did up the clasp at the front.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He stood up a little straighter. “Oh, that is </span>
  <em>
    <span>much </span>
  </em>
  <span>better!” He did a slow spin, feeling the familiar sensation of the cloak flowing behind him. Somehow, it was like it made him feel more like himself.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thomas seemed to think so too, wearing a proud expression on his face. “You look way more like the Roman I remember now. It’s too bad we don’t have your prince outfit lying around.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman laughed. “I don’t think that would even fit me anymore!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, probably not,” Thomas said. His smile turned into a more determined expression. “Ready to go get your kids?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman nodded. Now that he was properly dressed, he felt ready for anything. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thomas turned to Remy and gave him a peck on the lips. “I’ll be back later, Rem. Don’t wait up for me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remy smirked at him, but he had a soft look in his eyes. “Sure. Don’t miss me too much, okay babe?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thomas smiled back. “No promises.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thomas and Roman headed down the stairs and out the front door of the house. As they left, Roman heard Remy yelling at him from the balcony.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey you, make sure my boyfriend comes back in once piece or I’m gonna guilt you about it your dreams, okay?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman rolled his eyes. “Don’t worry, I’m sure your boyfriend can look after himself!” he shouted back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He sure can! See you later, babe!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remy waved goodbye to Thomas, who waved back at him, and with that Roman and Thomas left and ventured back into the forest. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Despite his newfound confidence that Roman had found after putting on his adventuring clothes, worry was beginning to seep back into his chest. He adjusted his cloak slightly, pulling it so it sat better on his shoulders. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After a few minutes of walking in silence, Roman couldn’t hold it in anymore. “Do you think they’re alright?” he blurted out. “I mean, they were with the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Dragon Witch</span>
  </em>
  <span> for heaven’s sakes, and Virgil’s smart so I’m sure he wouldn’t let anything bad happen to him or Patton, but still! And even if they got away safely, what if something else happened to them? They could be scared, or hurt, or-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So!” Thomas interrupted loudly. “Kids, huh? How’d that happen?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman stopped in his figurative verbal tracks. He could tell it was a very obvious attempt by Thomas to redirect his attention away from worrying about Patton and Virgil. Of course it was. But Roman was also a very proud father of two kids that he loved dearly, and if there was anything he loved almost as much as his children it was boasting about them to other people. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So Roman took the bait. “Oh! Well we adopted them about three years ago, and they really are the most wonderful kids you’ll ever meet. Patton’s seven, and he’s just the softest little sweetheart. He has the brightest smile you’ve ever seen, and the kindest heart to match. Virgil’s twelve, almost a teenager and I can hardly believe it. He’s a lot quieter than Patton, and it took awhile for him to open up to us, but it was obvious by the way Patton clings to him that he’s got a good heart too, he’s just more subtle about it.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman sighed and looked over at Thomas, who was smiling and listening patiently. “I might be biased, but you’re going to love them when you finally get a chance to meet them.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m sure I will,” Thomas agreed, though there was something about the way he said it that betrayed a hint of sadness.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is… everything alright?” Roman asked hesitantly. “Sorry, I can get a bit carried away when talking about my kids-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, no, you’re fine,” Thomas reassured him. “Your kids sound great, and I am looking forward to meeting them, it’s just… things are pretty different for you now, huh? I guess I just feel like I’ve missed out on such a big part of your life.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman offered him a smile. “Well, we’ve got some time to catch up now! And things have changed for you too while I’ve been gone, haven’t they? I never would have guessed you and Remy would become a thing!” He gave Thomas a teasing shoulder bump. “How on earth did </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>happen?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thomas’ sad smile spread into a genuine grin. “Oh gosh, me neither! Right, so after Remus- after I was banished, I needed somewhere to stay, but I didn’t exactly know a lot of people outside of the kingdom. Remy was the first person who came to mind, so I just sorta showed up on his doorstep in the middle of the night and asked if I could stay for awhile. I think we were both pretty skeptical at first, but I didn’t exactly have a lot of options. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“A few days turned into several weeks, and then a few months in after I kept telling him it wouldn’t be long until I found somewhere else to say so I wouldn’t have to bother him anymore, he told me I didn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>have </span>
  </em>
  <span>to go if I didn’t want to. So I stayed and,” Thomas shrugged, “here we are.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wow, that’s wonderful! I’m happy for you, Thomas,” Roman said, his heart swelling from the romance of it all. “I do have to admit, I never took Remy for the charitable type.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thomas laughed at that. “He isn’t normally, you’re right.” His smile turned sad. “But I don’t think he had anyone else either before I turned up. He’d never </span>
  <em>
    <span>say </span>
  </em>
  <span>it, but I’m sure he must've been lonely living out in the woods by himself.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman hummed in thought, and in the lantern light he thought he could see Thomas’ eyes shining with tears. “So you found each other, then.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, you could put it that way,” Thomas agreed, subtly wiping his eyes. “What about you? I’m pretty sure I heard you say ‘</span>
  <em>
    <span>we </span>
  </em>
  <span>adopted’, does that mean-?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh.” Roman should have known this topic would come up, especially when he’d brought up the whole romance thing himself, but he still felt caught off-guard somehow. “Yes, I did. But he’s- H-he’s, umm...” Roman trailed off, trying to get his words out. His breath hitched as he felt Thomas place his hand on his shoulder. He looked over and saw that same look of concern that people always had when he tried to talk about Logan. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman took in a shaky breath and started again. “He’s not doing so well. Something happened about a year ago, he was fine one day and I just found him collapsed the next, and none of the doctors know what’s wrong with him, but he hasn’t woken up since. I’m doing my best, with Patton and Virgil, but I’m kind of at a loss without him honestly. I had to switch jobs just so we could make ends meet.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thomas wrapped an arm around Roman’s side in a one-armed hug. “Gosh, I’m so sorry, Roman,” he said quietly, and it sounded like he was tearing up again. “What’s his name?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Logan. He’ll pull through though, I’m sure of it,” Roman answered, reassuring himself more than anything, as he often did. “No mysterious illness can keep him down forever!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I hope he does,” Thomas said, “then you can introduce me to the whole family.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh my stars, yes! That would be amazing.” Roman found himself picturing himself with his husband and his two kids, walking through the castle grounds and showing them everything. The thought of it made him unbearably happy, and he wished desperately that it could happen someday. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Those thoughts quickly faded, however, when Thomas and Roman emerged from the forest and found themselves in front of the city gates. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What on earth?” Roman muttered. The walls were crumbling, clearly having decayed since the last time he had seen them, and the gates themselves appeared to have rusted. The place seemed to be largely in a state of disrepair, and Roman dread to think what the inside of the city looked like. Something else kept pulling at the back of his mind, a question he hadn’t quite found the answer to yet.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>What was he going to say to Remus?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>If the state of the kingdom was anything to go by, then Remus was going to be in a much worse state. What could Roman even say, after leaving him behind all these years and forgetting he even existed? Would sorry even cover it?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Roman?” Thomas said, pulling Roman out of his thoughts.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hmm?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There’s no one here.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman quickly scanned the surrounding area, and his heart sank. Thomas was right, there was no one but them in sight. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Where were Patton and Virgil?</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The Dragon Witch, still standing between the two boys and their only exit out, held her hands out in front of herself. A green light appeared between them, swirling as she began charging up a spell. Virgil’s eyes darted around as the light grew bigger and bigger, hoping to find somewhere for him and Patton to take cover, but he realised there wasn’t time. Just as the Dragon Witch launched her spell towards them, he pulled Patton close to him and turned so that Patton was completely shielded from the impact, squeezing his eyes shut tight. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Then he felt… something. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Not the impact he was expecting - he had expected to feel something strike him in the back painfully, but instead the magic just seemed to fizzle over him. He slowly opened his eyes, looking down to see if Patton was unharmed. Patton’s eyes were still firmly shut, as if he was still waiting for the spell to hit them. He seemed completely unaffected.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil turned his head to look at the dragon witch, his eyes wide with confusion. “What… what did you </span>
  <em>
    <span>do?</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Dragon Witch had a smug smile on her face. “I suppose we’ll just have to wait and see, won’t we?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wh- no, what did you do?!” Virgil demanded. He felt Patton’s grip loosen on his hoodie slightly, as if he’d finally realised it was over.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Dragon Witch simply stepped aside, no longer blocking the path out. “I think now would be a good time for you to leave, don’t you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil wanted to keep pressing for an answer, but he felt his brother still trembling slightly beside him. He huffed out a sigh. “Fine. C’mon Pat, let’s just go.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton kept a tight hold on Virgil’s hand as they walked past the Dragon Witch and out the gate. Virgil turned around to make sure she wasn’t going to attack them from behind, but when he did she had disappeared and the lights in the house were out. Virgil shivered, glad to be leaving that place behind. He and Patton walked away briskly until the house was out of sight. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once Virgil was sure they were safe, he turned to Patton. “You okay, Pat? She didn’t hurt you at all?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton nodded, though he was clearly still shaken. “I don't think her spell worked. Nothing happened.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I guess not,” Virgil said, though he wasn’t quite as convinced. Something about the way the Dragon Witch had responded made him unsure. Plus, he had this weird feeling in his chest that wouldn’t go away.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton looked up at him. “You okay too?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil scratched the back of his neck. He decided not to mention his suspicions just yet. He was probably just being paranoid. “Yeah, just kind of reeling from that whole thing. Sorry for leading us straight into the Dragon Witch’s house, that was a pretty bad move.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Maybe, but we made it out okay!” Patton reassured him. “Where are we going now?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, right,” Virgil said, suddenly remembering his dream. “Yeah, so this is gonna sound weird, but I had this dream where a guy told me that Dad was looking for us and that’s he’s gonna meet us outside the city gates.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton perked up. “Dad’s here?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil nodded. “I think so, yeah. Like I said, it’s pretty weird, but we don’t exactly have a lot else to go on here.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay!” Patton said, though Virgil felt he was a bit too quick to accept his ‘some guy in a dream told me so it must be true’ story. It wasn’t too unusual though, since Patton was the sort of kid to give everyone the benefit of the doubt.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It turned out the city gates weren’t too far from the Dragon Witch’s house, which Virgil wasn’t sure was entirely safe. He took a quick look around to see if he could find his Dad anywhere, but him and Patton seemed to have gotten there first. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil finally let go of Patton’s hand and stretched. Even after taking a quick nap, he still felt pretty tired. “Guess there’s not much else to do but sit and wait,” Virgil said, taking a seat on the grass that was just outside the gates. He patted the grass next to him, signalling for Patton to join him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton, on the other hand, seemed wide awake now and made no move to sit down. “Awww, can’t we have a quick peek inside?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil sighed and shook his head. “We can go in once Dad gets here, but we’re supposed to wait for him out here.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Awww…” Patton pouted. “But I bet it’s really cool! We’ve always heard all these stories about the kingdom, I just wanna have a look and see what it’s like! Please?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not yet, it could be dangerous in there. Now come and sit your butt down,” Virgil said, not in the mood to be argued with. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton let out a whine of protest and tried his best puppy dog eyes on Virgil, before realising that he wasn’t going to change his mind and plopping himself grumpily beside his brother. “Seems pretty dangerous out here too,” Patton mumbled.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil pretended not to hear him, instead keep a constant eye out in case their dad showed up. He wasn’t in the mood for any more surprises. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It frustrated him greatly, then, when a few minutes later he realised Patton was being a bit </span>
  <em>
    <span>too </span>
  </em>
  <span>quiet, and he turned next to him to see Patton was gone. He looked around wildly, only to catch the last glimpses of Patton slipping in through the gates. Virgil groaned and threw up his arms. Great. Just what he needed. He took one last look around outside to make sure Roman wasn’t gonna show up last minute, then went through the gates after his brother. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The streets inside weren’t exactly welcoming, with all of the windows being boarded up and the only lights on being the few lanterns that lined the street (which were at the very least an improvement on what Virgil’s eyes had been trying to grow accustomed to outside). There were also way too many dark alleyways for Virgil’s liking, and he was wishing more and more by the second that he could just go home already. Patton, on the other hand, looked as though it was Christmas morning, peeking in through gaps in the boarded windows and staring up at everything with curious, wide eyes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Patton,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Virgil hissed at him in a whisper. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton turned to look at him, though he looked ready to take off at any second. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil hunched his shoulders. “Come </span>
  <em>
    <span>on, </span>
  </em>
  <span>we’re supposed to be waiting outside. You can look at all this later.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey! You two!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil looked up to see two guards standing further up the street. He cursed something under his breath that he knew neither his dad nor his brother would have approved of. Patton </span>
  <em>
    <span>finally </span>
  </em>
  <span>backed up and stood next to Virgil as the two guards approached.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What are you two kids doing? Don’t you know you’re not supposed to be out at night?” One of them asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, we were waiting for our dad and my brother ran off on me,” Virgil answered truthfully. “We were just leaving.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Our dad’s a prince!” Patton chimed in helpfully. Virgil cringed, shaking his head and signaling desperately for Patton to </span>
  <em>
    <span>stop. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The other guard let out a nervous laugh. “Sure kid, we all know the only prince around here is Prince Remus, and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t have any kids.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, not him!” Patton, apparently oblivious to Virgil’s attempts to stop him, continued with a wide smile on his face. “I mean Prince Roman! He’s our dad!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Everybody except Patton froze. All Virgil could think was </span>
  <em>
    <span>why why why </span>
  </em>
  <span>as the two guards frowned and turned around to mumble to each other privately. While they weren’t looking, Virgil felt panic surge through his chest that made him grab Patton’s hand and make a run for it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He could hear the guards behind them yell for them to stop, but he just kept pulling Patton along behind him. He ducked into a side street, but quickly realised that had been the wrong decision when he was met with two more guards who were stationed at the end. He turned around to back out, but the first two guards had caught up with them. They were trapped on all sides. Virgil took a defensive stance. He’d protected his brother once that night, and he’d do it again if he had to. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>One of the first guards held up their hand, as if to placate Virgil. “Woah, hey. Look, you probably didn’t mean anything by it, but no one’s supposed to mention... </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> name around here. No one here’s gonna hurt you, but you’ll have to come with us.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil eyed them warily, then dropped his hunched shoulders in defeat. As much as he wanted to, he didn’t think he could take on four armed guards. As they were lead away, Patton looked terrified and very apologetic. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sorry,” he mumbled to Virgil. As frustrated as he was, Virgil couldn’t help but feel sorry for Patton, and so sent his brother a reassuring look, even if he himself had no idea if they were going to be safe or not. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Most of the streets they walked through were the same as the first- run-down, lights out and windows boarded up- so Virgil didn’t absorb much of his surroundings as they were escorted through the kingdom. It became pretty clear where they were headed though, as the castle loomed ever nearer. Its state was much the same as the outer walls, crumbling and in a terrible state. Virgil thought bitterly to himself that nothing he’d seen so far had been </span>
  <em>
    <span>nearly </span>
  </em>
  <span>as ‘wonderful’ as he’d been led to believe when he was younger.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Two of the guards opened the large wooden doors to the castle, leaving only two other guards to follow as Virgil and Patton stepped inside. Okay, even Virgil had to admit that despite the decrepit nature of the castle, it was still pretty cool on the inside. They were standing in a long hall that was lined with pillars, and at the end was a staircase that split off into two different directions and up to a second floor. The guards led the two boys up and to the right, then down a hallway before stopping outside a door. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Now, Prince Remus is sensitive around the subject of his brother,” one of the guards warned, “so just… watch what you say.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil and Patton exchanged worried glances as they were led through the door and into what seemed to be a throne room. There were two thrones sitting side by side, though one of them seemed to have been severely damaged, as if someone had taken a blunt object to it several times. Laying across the other throne was a man dressed in an intricate green and black outfit, complete with a green sash across his torso. The man wore a bored expression, legs kicking back and forth in a distracted manner. Virgil also couldn’t help but notice how similar he looked to his dad, with the noticeable exception of a mustache and a white streak in his hair. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil could only assume that </span>
  <em>
    <span>this </span>
  </em>
  <span>was Prince Remus. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remus looked up when one of the guards cleared their throat. He looked first to the guards, then to Virgil and Patton. Virgil could feel Remus’ eyes almost boring into him. He looked back at the guards and raised an eyebrow, waiting for an explanation. Both guards began explaining to him what Patton had said. As they did, Remus’ bored expression slowly disappeared, and he moved from his lazed position on the throne to swinging his legs around into a proper sitting position, leaning forward. The guards asked Remus what he wanted them to do, since apparently (as Virgil and Patton were just finding out) even just the mention of Roman’s name was outlawed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The last thing Virgil expected was for Remus to burst out laughing. It was a maniacal, unhinged laugh which almost caused him to fall off his throne. As it tapered off, he tilted his head at Virgil and Patton with a gross </span>
  <em>
    <span>crack!</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh? Oh, you’re messing with me!” Another laugh fell out of Remus’ mouth. “You are, aren’t you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil grimaced. This guy was his </span>
  <em>
    <span>uncle</span>
  </em>
  <span>? “...yeah, uh sorry, my brother didn’t mean it-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Because if you </span>
  <em>
    <span>are </span>
  </em>
  <span>messing with me,” Remus continued, looking at Virgil with scrutinous eyes, “then the consequences of that would be quite…” he smiled wide, “...extreme! And extremely messy!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil moved just a little bit close to Patton.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But if you weren’t messing with me, then we might be able to come to an arrangement, since that would make you my nephews and family is very important to me! So,” Remus looked at them with a serious expression, “I’ll give you one last chance. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Were </span>
  </em>
  <span>you messing with me?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil started weighing up the options of what was less likely to get him and his brother killed, but Patton spoke up and chose for him. “I wasn’t lying! I mean, I didn’t know before today that he was a prince, or that I had an uncle, and Virgil had a weird dream with a guy he’d never seen before telling him that our dad was here, but if there’s one thing I know it’s that Roman is definitely our dad!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remus listened to all of this with wide eyes, and stayed silent for a good minute afterwards as he seemed to be mulling something over. Suddenly, with a single clap that startled everyone in the room, guards included, he appeared to come to a decision. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I’m so rude!” Remus said, hands clasped together. “My own nephews come to visit me, and I haven’t even asked them their names yet! Silly Remus, you never were very good with manners! Let’s start over, I’m Prince Remus, or just Remus since we’re family! And you are…?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton looked to Virgil to see if he would answer first, but Virgil made no sign that he was going to. “Umm… I’m Patton!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Patton! Very nice to meet you, little nephew! And…?” Remus looked at Virgil expectantly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil sighed and mumbled, “Virgil.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well Patton and Virgil, how would you feel about staying, hmm… forever?” Remus asked, in such a casual way that it took Virgil’s brain a moment to process what he said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What- no! No, we’re not doing that!” Virgil said firmly. Beside him, Patton was also shaking his head.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uncle Remus, we’ve gotta go home!” Patton pleaded.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Or you could just make your new home here! Eh, you’ll come around,” Remus shrugged, unphased by his nephews’ refusals. “In the meantime, guards! Lock them in the dungeons! No hard feelings, but I can’t have you running away before the three day limit is up!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil’s thoughts started spiralling. They couldn’t get trapped here, their dad would show up any minute and end this, Remus couldn’t trap them there forever, he can’t he </span>
  <em>
    <span>can’t-</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>One of the guards made a grab for Virgil’s arm to pull him away, but Virgil panicked and yelled “hey!” and tried to yank his arm back. At the same time, what seemed to be an intense spark of electricity zapped the guard and forced him to let go. Virgil’s fear was replaced with confusion. What the heck was that? He locked eyes with Remus for a second, who seemed to consider him curiously, if only for a second. Another arm grabbed to pull Virgil away again, this time with no electric shock. </span>
</p><p><br/>
<span>As him and Patton were dragged away, Remus resumed his reclined position on his throne. “Oh, and let me know as soon as my dear brother arrives!” He called after the guards. “We should be expecting him soon, and I’ve been waiting to see him for a </span>
  <em>
    <span>very </span>
  </em>
  <span>long time!”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Where </span>
  <em>
    <span>are </span>
  </em>
  <span>they?” Roman asked in a panicked voice, after he and Thomas had been waiting a few minutes with still no sign of them. “You don’t think… the Dragon Witch-?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, I’m sure they’re fine,” Thomas said, and ran a hand through his hair. “Maybe they went on inside without us?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman gave an unsure nod. “Yeah… yes, that’s probably it! Sure, let’s go with that!” he said, his voice more hysterical with each word.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, let’s just have a look inside, alright?” Thomas said, trying to calm Roman down. “We’ll have a look around, ask a few people if they’ve seen them, and then if there’s no sign of them we’ll check in with the Dragon Witch. Sound good?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman sighed and nodded again, but when Thomas moved to go inside the gates Roman found himself hesitating to follow him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Roman?” Thomas said with a questioning look. “You coming?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, I…” Roman cleared his throat, smoothing out his shirt. “It’s just been a long time, you know?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thomas nodded sympathetically. “Yeah, I know. It’s been a while for me too.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He gestured for Roman to follow him, and Roman felt his legs finally step forward and walk into the city. As he did, he took an opportunity to look around - for his kids, of course, but also just to see how much had changed. Everything seemed a lot darker than it had when he’d been there as a kid, but there was still the feeling of the nostalgia that was tugging at his heart. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was pulled out of his nostalgic moment when he heard voices behind him. He turned around to see a nervous looking Thomas talking to two royal guards, and it was at that point Roman remembered that Thomas was technically still banished.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He stepped forward to intervene. “Ah, good evening! No need to worry about Thomas, he’s with me,” Roman explained, striking a princely pose and hoping they’d recognise who he was. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thomas shot him a grateful look. The two guards, however, stared at him with blank looks. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman coughed and tried again. “And by me, of course I mean Prince Roman?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That seemed to finally click something into place for the guards, and they both stood at attention.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Apologies, Your Highness,” one of them said, “we didn’t recognise you! Prince Remus is waiting for you at the castle.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“O-oh!” Roman said in surprise, wondering how it was that Remus apparently already knew he was there. “Oh, actually before I see him, we’re actually looking for my two children? There’s names are Patton and Virgil, Patton’s about this high and he-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The other guard cut him off. “Your children are waiting there as well, Your Highness.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman breathed a sigh of relief. At least he knew where they were now. The only thing left to do was to collect them and… talk to Remus, the latter of which diminished his relief slightly. “Well that’s… good! Lead the way, then!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As Thomas and Roman followed after the two guards, Thomas leaned over to him. “If Remus has your kids, then that’s bad news for us. You know that, right?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman just shrugged. “It’s fine. This is Remus we’re talking about, I’ll just… talk to him first, alright? I’m sure I can figure something out with him.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As they walked up the steps to the castle, Roman couldn’t help but notice that several of the windows had been smashed in and that most of the garden statues had been all but completely demolished. He tried not to take it as a bad omen, but any confidence he’d had was slowly disappearing. They were led through familiar castle halls, and Roman took a deep breath as the doors to the throne room were pushed open for him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And there stood Remus. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As soon as he locked eyes with his brother, whatever half-plan of what he wanted to say left Roman’s brain. Remus didn’t seem to know what to say either, eyes wide and disbelieving. They mirrored each other as they both took a few steps forward. They paused for a second, and though Roman didn’t move any further Remus kept walking towards him, until his face was only a few inches for Roman’s. He squinted, examining Roman’s features as if trying to make sure this was really his brother. Then his face split into a stunningly wide grin that Roman knew all too well. He wrapped Roman up in a bone-crushing hug, lifting him off the ground slightly so that Roman’s feet were no longer touching the floor. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A strangled wheeze escaped from Roman’s mouth as he felt his rib cage being crushed. “Remus… can’t... breathe…” Remus dropped him so suddenly that Roman almost lost his balance. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Look at you!” Remus exclaimed, circling around Roman. “You’re here! You’re all old and serious and </span>
  <em>
    <span>boring, </span>
  </em>
  <span>but don’t worry! I’ll soon fix that!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman let out a huff. “Remus, you can’t call me </span>
  <em>
    <span>old </span>
  </em>
  <span>when we’re the same age!” He crossed his arms in indignation. “And I am </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>boring!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remus placed a hand on his hip and rolled his eyes. “Come </span>
  <em>
    <span>on </span>
  </em>
  <span>Roman, you used to love telling everyone how you were a whole 14 minutes older than me, what changed? And of course you’re boring, you’ve been deprived of me for 12 years, 3 months and 13 days! Probably don’t even know what the word ‘fun’ means anymore!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman couldn’t help but wince at Remus apparently knowing the exact amount of time it had been since they’d last seen each other. “W-well, not to get all </span>
  <em>
    <span>serious </span>
  </em>
  <span>but I heard you had Patton and Virgil here. I don’t see them though, where are they?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh yes, I did get a chance to meet my nephews! Don’t worry, they’re fine, just spending some time in the dungeons,” Remus said, waving a dismissive hand. “I’ll let them out in a couple of days when the three day limit runs out!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Three day- Remus, you can’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>do </span>
  </em>
  <span>that!” Roman argued. “Look, it’s good to see you again, but if you could just give me my children back I’ll be on my way, so-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh! Ohoho, oh I knew it!” Remus shouted, and pointed a finger at Roman. “I </span>
  <em>
    <span>knew </span>
  </em>
  <span>you couldn’t have come all this way to see me, you’re only here for them! You never even told them about me, and now you’re just going to leave again! Just admit it Roman, you forgot about me!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman stammered. “I- well, maybe I did! So maybe life got a little busy and didn’t come back as much as I should have, so my memories of you faded away and I forgot about you! That does not mean you can hold my children ransom! What did they do to deserve this? Why are you doing this, Remus?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remus gave him a strained, wide-eyed smile. “I’m so glad you asked, Roman! Don’t you see? If they’re here stuck then you’ll </span>
  <em>
    <span>have </span>
  </em>
  <span>to stay! It’s a pretty good plan, right?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman glowered at him, his guilt now buried under a solid layer of anger. “I’m only going to ask you once more, Remus. Let them go.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remus scoffed at him. “And what are you going to do if I don’t? Fight me?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman let out an angry breath through his nose. He turned to look at Thomas, who was standing behind him and looking very tense. “Thomas, give me your sword.” Thomas frowned, but drew out his sword anyway and handed it to Roman.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman turned back to look at Remus, pointing the sword at him. “Remus. Now.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remus stared him down for a few seconds, and Roman thought for a second he wasn’t going to back down, but then Remus sighed and threw his head back in a show of defeat. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ugh, fine! God, you always have to be so dramatic,” Remus said, before circling back to take a seat on his throne and signalling for the guards to go and fetch Vigil and Patton. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman kept his eye on Remus the whole time, but Remus didn’t even look up to acknowledge him, instead opting to glare daggers at the wall. A few minutes later, the doors burst open, and Roman finally took his eyes off of Remus to turn around and see his kids walk in. Roman handed the sword back to Thomas for the moment and stretched out his arms. Patton cried out for him and ran straight into Roman’s open arms, Roman enveloping him in the best hug he could muster. Virgil cautiously walked up to him too, and didn’t protest as Roman pulled him into the hug.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Stars, I was so worried,” Roman mumbled, then kissed both of them on the top of their heads. He took a deep breath, letting it sink in that they were both safe, then turned around to face Remus once more. He stared at the arch that stood behind the two thrones - the way home. Remus had placed himself strategically between Roman’s family and their only way out. “Alright Remus, my children and I are going home now. Step aside.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remus seemed to almost consider it for a moment. “Mmm, an interesting idea! I’ve been thinking about what you said, about them not deserving to be stuck here, and just this once I’m going to agree with you! So how about this: </span>
  <em>
    <span>they </span>
  </em>
  <span>get to go home, but </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>stay here!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Remus, that’s not fair!” Roman protested, and he could tell by how both Patton and Virgil huddled closer to him that they agreed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remus placed a hand to his chest. “Not fair? How is it not fair? I think it’s very fair, considering that you left me here for </span>
  <em>
    <span>twelve years </span>
  </em>
  <span>after you promised you’d come and visit me after my three day limit ran out! Now </span>
  <em>
    <span>that’s </span>
  </em>
  <span>what I’d call ‘not fair’!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman stepped away from his children, taking the sword from Thomas again just in case. “We both know that was your choice to stay here!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>You forgot me!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Remus yelled, shaking with rage. “You know exactly why I stayed, and you promised you’d come back and you didn’t!” Remus picked up the mace that had been sitting next to his throne. “So, fair’s fair! They can leave, but you’re not going anywhere!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman looked back at Patton and Virgil, who both seemed to be pleading with their eyes for him not to leave them. He then looked at Thomas and said, “Thomas? Look after my kids.” He gripped his sword a little tighter, and Virgil seemed to realise what was about to happen. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Dad, don’t-” Virgil began to protest, but Thomas held him back and shook his head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman strode towards Remus, who was now standing and ready to face him. They had a silent conversation where Roman asked if they were really going through with this, and Remus made it clear that he wasn’t going to back down. So Roman braced himself, and swung his sword at Remus. Remus easily managed to block it, then returned the favour by swinging his mace at Roman. The two of them struck blow after blow, each managing to block the other, though it was dawning on Roman that his sword fighting skills might be a little rusty. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remus was the first one to actually manage to strike Roman with enough force to almost knock him off his feet. Roman barely managed to stay upright, but seeing an opportunity he quickly steadied himself and ducked under Remus’ second swing. </span>
  <em>
    <span>There! </span>
  </em>
  <span>Roman used his momentum to launch himself forward and knock Remus to the ground with a strong push. Roman swung down at him with his sword, but Remus had just enough time to block. If Roman could just get rid of that stupid </span>
  <em>
    <span>mace-</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remus took another swing at Roman, and this time after the follow-through Roman made a grab for the mace and tried to wrestle it out of Remus’ hand. Realising his sword was hindering his efforts, he tossed it away for a moment and grabbed onto the mace with both hands. The two brothers wrestled with it, and Roman was almost losing his grip when he finally managed to pull it way from Remus. He pointed the mace towards Remus’ chest, using the weight of it to keep his brother down. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remus let out a defeated, humourless laugh. “What are you going to do now, kill me or something?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’ve ruined this kingdom, threatened my children, threatened </span>
  <em>
    <span>me… </span>
  </em>
  <span>but no, I’m not going to kill you,” Roman reassured him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remus smiled, almost hopeful, but mostly condescending. “I knew you would never-” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I am, however, going to banish you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remus’ face dropped. “You’re… banishing me?” he repeated softly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes,” Roman nodded, “you won’t step foot inside this kingdom ever again, not after all the damage you’ve done.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s not… that’s not fair, Roman! You can’t just show up after all this time and just take the only thing I have left-’ Remus sounds almost in tears. “You </span>
  <em>
    <span>can’t!</span>
  </em>
  <span>’</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman refused to look at him, instead addressing the guards. “Come and escort Remus outside of the city, please.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He stood back as the guards obeyed and grabbed Remus. Remus put up a fight the whole way out, at the first kicking and screaming, but soon devolved into pleading for Roman to change his mind as he wildly thrashed about to try and break free. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I </span>
  <em>
    <span>hate </span>
  </em>
  <span>you!” was the last thing Roman heard before Remus was dragged out and the door shut behind him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That left just Roman, Thomas, Patton and Virgil standing in the throne room together, in complete deafening silence. Roman let out a shaky breath. “Oh, uh, also Thomas? You’re officially unbanished.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thomas blinked, caught off-guard by that. “Oh… thanks.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman felt a small hand slip into his own, and looked up to see Patton staring at him with concerned eyes. Virgil also moved to stand on the other side of him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Dad?” Virgil asked. “You okay?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Let’s just… go home, alright?” Roman said in a tired voice. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He led them towards the archway that sat behind the two thrones. He turned around one last time to wave goodbye to Thomas, with Virgil and Patton also sending him an awkward wave. Thomas smiled and waved back to all of them, looking sad to see them go. Roman made a mental note to come back and visit in a few days, when all of them were better rested. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Turning back around to face the archway, Roman and his children stepped through and were engulfed in a familiar light for a moment, before it faded and they were standing back in the mess that was Roman’s study.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Home.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>No one moved or spoke for a moment, all of them attempting to absorb all of the things that had just happened. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil was the first one to speak. “So, uh,” he said, looking at his dad, “all those stories you told us about a prince… that was you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton jumped up and down with a beaming smile. “That’s so cool! You defeated the Dragon Witch and you can fight with a sword and you’re a prince!” He gave Roman a hug. “Our dad is the best!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil seemed to get lost in his thoughts for a moment, but snapped out of it when he noticed that Roman and Patton were staring at him expectantly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, you’re pretty cool, I guess,” he admitted, a smile threatening to creep onto his face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You </span>
  <em>
    <span>guess?!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Roman squawked in mock offense. When Virgil rolled his eyes in response, Roman ruffled his hair in retaliation. Virgil swatted his hand away, but was no longer able to keep back his smile. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman bent down and picked up the storybook off the floor, its key still wedged into the keyhole. He stared at it thoughtfully. “Well, now that Remus is… gone, and I’m too busy to take care of things, Reverie is sort of lacking in princes, don’t you think?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil and Patton looked at him, confused.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You are both my children, after all,” Roman continued. “That does make you both royalty. So what do you say?” He looked at them both. “Prince Patton and Prince Virgil of Reverie… has a nice ring to it!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton nodded enthusiastically, but Virgil hesitated. “You sure? Seems like a lot of responsibility.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Of course I’m sure!” Roman reassured him. “Besides, you won’t be entirely alone. I may not have time to run a kingdom anymore, but I’ll be here if you need anything. And so will Thomas! You’re not the first two princes he’s dealt with after all.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil looked to Patton, who seemed to agree, and sighed. “...Yeah, okay.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman was over the moon. His two boys, princes! “It’s settled then!” He looked at the time and saw that it was well past midnight. “Goodness, it’s very late. Alright you two, off to bed! I think that’s enough adventure for one day.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil was inclined to agree. Roman went with Patton to settle him into bed, while Virgil headed back to his own room, changed into his PJs and climbed into bed. As he tried to sleep, he found his thoughts had other plans. He could still hardly believe that Remus was his uncle, and that he’d never even heard about him. His uncle and his dad were both princes… and now he was too. It was weird to think about.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Those weren’t the only things he was thinking about, though. The Dragon Witch appeared in his mind. She’d done something, but he couldn’t figure out what. He couldn’t help but feel like he’d find out soon enough though. All of these things weighed on his mind as he finally, safely drifted off to sleep. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Meanwhile, Remus shivered to himself as he walked through the woods outside of Reverie’s city walls. He’d lost his brother, his new nephews, his home, all in one night. Well, he hadn’t exactly </span>
  <em>
    <span>lost </span>
  </em>
  <span>them, had he? They’d been taken from him! Roman had ruined everything for him all over again. Remus laughed to himself. Of course he had. It was still the same after all this time, Roman was handed everything on a silver platter and Remus hadn’t even been left with the scraps. There was nothing wrong with scraps. Some of the best things he’d ever made had been made from discarded things he’d mashed together. But now he didn’t even have that. It made him so, so…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Angry? He kicked the ground. Obviously he was angry. It boiled in him so harshly that he thought his insides would melt, or explode. Or both! Wouldn’t that be a sight? But there was something else mixed in with the rage that made him feel sick. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>God, he was so sad. The more sad he felt, the more angry he got, until frustrated tears spilled over onto his cheeks. He wiped them away furiously and clutched his stomach. A part of him wanted to keel over and just lay down, lay down and rot. But no, that wouldn’t do. He had things to do, he could rot later (which he was sure he would, as most people did. At least he had something to look forward to). So he carried on walking, tired and messy and covered in filth and tears. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He emerged out of the forest and into the open. What lay before him was a tall, dark tower that was overshadowed by mountains. At the very least, he had this place left. He walked down the winding dirt path and knocked on the tower’s door. There was silence for a moment, then the sound of footsteps before a disgruntled looking man in a bowler hat opened the door. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m sure there’s a </span>
  <em>
    <span>very </span>
  </em>
  <span>good reason why you’ve woken me up in the middle of the night,” the man grumbled, clearly half asleep.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A part of Remus almost felt guilty, but it was mostly quashed by the part of him that was happy to see a friendly face. “Good morning, Janus! I promise there’s a good explanation!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Janus huffed and crossed his arms. “Oh, I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>sure</span>
  </em>
  <span> there is.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Roman came back!” Remus explained.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That seemed to get Janus’ attention. “Oh?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yup! He…” Remus felt himself faltering, but pushed on. “He banished me! So… here I am!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah.” Janus sighed and gave Remus a sympathetic look. He opened the door wider in a wordless invitation for Remus to come in. Remus gladly accepted the offer and stepped into the tower, immediately beginning his ramblings about all that had happened that night. As he did, Janus shut the door behind him. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9 (Interlude I)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It was about a week after their very eventful night, and the kingdom was slowly returning to its former glory. The city and the castle both looked a lot different in the day, Virgil and Patton both agreed, even when they’d visited a few days prior and most of the boarded windows and damage hadn’t been fixed yet. Roman had made sure to go with them and announce to the citizens that he had returned, and that his two children would now be the main ruling princes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Which had led to today. The kingdom had thrown a festival to celebrate the end of Remus’ chaotic rule and the two new princes. Virgil and Patton had been led by Roman and several guards (including Thomas, the newly reinstated captain of the guards) through the streets, both dressed in tailor-made royal clothing and wearing matching silver and gold circlets on their heads. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil wasn’t really a fan of the whole thing, if he was honest. Crowds weren’t really his thing, especially when they were all looking at </span>
  <em>
    <span>him, </span>
  </em>
  <span>so by the end of it he was pretty exhausted. Standing in what was now his own private room in the castle, he took the circlet off of his head and looked at it. He was officially a prince now. Weird. Even just looking at himself in the mirror on his dresser, he looked more like he was wearing a costume in his fancy purple robes. He placed the circlet down on his dresser and slumped into the chair that was sitting in front of it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is it time to go home yet?” He mumbled to himself. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You look like you could use a break,” a voice said from the doorway. Virgil looked up to see Thomas standing there, giving him a sympathetic look.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, tell me about it,” Virgil agreed, slumping further into his chair.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t do too well with people, huh? I get that,” Thomas said. “I could use a break too, honestly. Tell you what, your dad says he has to go home and take care of a few things, but why don’t you and your brother come back with me to my house and you can just hang out and relax there?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil raised an eyebrow at him. “Dad asked you to babysit us, huh?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thomas rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, okay, he did. Is that okay with you, or…?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil shrugged and stood up. “Yeah, whatever. As long as there’s no people there, I’m good.” He looked down at his royal clothes. “Actually, uh, I might get out of these things first, if that’s cool.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thomas nodded. “Yeah, fair enough. I’ll go tell Patton in the meantime. Let me know when you’re ready to go, okay?” After a nod from Virgil, he left and closed the door behind him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A few minutes later, Virgil emerged from his room to find Patton and Thomas waiting for him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Didn’t want to change out of your cape, huh?” Virgil asked Patton with a smirk. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nope!” Patton chirped, dressed in his normal everyday clothes, aside from the blue cape that was still draped around his shoulders. “Besides, I wanted to look cool to meet your dream guy!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, yeah.” He’d almost forgotten that Remy and Thomas were boyfriends, so he’d be meeting Remy for the first time when he went to Thomas’ house. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Actually, Patton, I think you’ll find he’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>my </span>
  </em>
  <span>dream guy,” Thomas said with a wink. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton took a moment to catch on what Thomas meant, then dissolved into giggles. Virgil just rolled his eyes as the three of them set out. Thomas led them down a different path than they’d normally gone when travelling through the city, one which avoided a large part of the more populated area. Virgil was grateful that he wouldn’t have to deal with any more people than he needed to. They exited the city through a small side gate, and ventured into the forest. It was late afternoon, and everything was covered in a golden light. It was Virgil’s first time walking through the forest where he wasn’t peering through the dark, checking for dangers. It was just a nice, relaxing walk, something Virgil had needed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They emerged from the forest and into a clearing with a strange, towering house. It wasn’t exactly the kind of house Virgil had pictured Thomas living in, he thought as Thomas opened the door and let him and Patton walk in. Virgil barely got three steps before he heard something cracking under his foot. He looked down and winced. There was a broken teacup underneath it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uh, Thomas?” Virgil said, lifting up his foot. He felt kind of guilty about it, but at the same time, who’d leave a teacup on the floor?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thomas looked down. “Oh gosh, okay.” He motioned for Patton and Virgil to step back. “Don’t feel bad too about it, happens all the time. Careful not to step on any shards, I’ll go get a broom.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As Thomas disappeared into the kitchen in the next room over, Virgil heard someone descending the stairs. He looked over and saw Remy, dressed in his black, embroidered coat and shades, walk down and do a double take. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uh, babe?” Remy called out to Thomas. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thomas reappeared from the kitchen, a broom and dustpan in hand. “Yeah?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He lowered his shades and peered over top of them at Virgil and Patton. “Who’d you steal these kids from? Wait-” He looked closer at Virgil. “This is gonna sound weird, but I think I know that one?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thomas sighed. “Those are Roman’s kids, Remy.” He started to sweep up the broken teacup. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remy raised an eyebrow. “You </span>
  <em>
    <span>stole </span>
  </em>
  <span>Roman’s kids?” He slipped his shades back on. “Wow, what a power move!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>steal </span>
  </em>
  <span>them, come on,” Thomas said, rolling his eyes. “I’m just taking care of them for a few hours.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remy picked a half-full teacup up off of a nearby chair. “Yeah, ‘cause I was gonna say… didn’t think you had it in you, babe.” He took a sip. “No offense.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thomas just shook his head and disappeared back into the kitchen to dispose of the teacup shards. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Since the house was clearly too cluttered for Virgil and Patton to hang around in without breaking anything, Thomas took them outside. Patton was more than ready to run around and play in the open field, but Virgil decided he would just sit on the grass and watch as Thomas and Patton played a two person game of tag. Virgil kind of felt sorry for Thomas, who was clearly struggling to keep up with Patton’s energy. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Having fun sitting on the ground?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil looked up to see Remy standing beside him, with a cup of tea in each hand. He shrugged. “I’ve kinda had enough ‘fun’ for one day,” he responded.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remy handed Virgil one of the teacups, which Virgil eyed suspiciously. Remy just rolled his eyes. “Don’t worry, it’s fresh,” he said, taking a sip out of his own cup. “Yours is, anyway.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil squinted, before taking a hesitant sip. Sure enough, the tea was nice and warm. He relaxed slightly, finding the warm cup in his hands comforting.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remy took a seat next to him on the ground. “Speaking of fun, I hear there was quite a party in town today. Too bad I wasn’t there, parties are the best!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil snorted. “Yeah, well, next time you can take my place. I’m not really a party guy.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mmm, I wish,” Remy said, taking a sip.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m serious,” Virgil said, smirking. “Just let me know, and I’ll sit the next one out.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remy glanced at him. “Yeah, I was being serious too, kid. Really wish I could, but y’know,” he took another sip, “the whole ‘banishment’ thing is a really party killer.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil frowned at him, confused. “What do you mean? Wait, Remy, did you get banished?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remy smacked his lips. “Yah.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil held his cup a little tighter and took a sip. “Oh… what for? I mean, if you wanna talk about it, or whatever.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Kid, you don’t even wanna know,” Remy said. “Besides, the guy in charge at the time was a total jerk.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil stared into his cup. “You mean my dad?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> “Are you asking if your dad was in charge or if your dad’s a total jerk?” Remy asked. Virgil snorted a laugh at that, and Remy continued. “Nah, it was someone else.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Would you ever wanna go back?” Virgil asked. “I mean, ‘cause Patton and I can un-banish people now, so if you wanted to...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remy blinked at him behind his shades, clearly caught off-guard by the question. “Nah, you don’t have to do that. It’s kinda nice being out here, not being bothered by anyone.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, you don’t have to go anywhere if you wanted to stay here. We could just unbanish you anyway,” Virgil suggested.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remy thought about that for a moment. He stared out to where Thomas and Patton were playing. “Roman raised some good kids, huh?” Remy mumbled, tapping the side of his cup. He took a deep breath in. “I guess it’d be a good idea, since Thomas got his job back and won’t be around as much. Hmm. Yeah, okay.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil nodded, and mentally noted to start sorting that out before he and Patton went home. Remy and Virgil sat in silence for a moment, watching Thomas and Patton playing. Patton chased Thomas around him, and let out a triumphant sound when he finally tagged him. Thomas, on the other hand, looked tired, hands on his sides and taking a moment to catch his breath. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remy took a drink and emptied the remaining tea in his teacup. “So, how’d Roman end up with a bunch of cool kids like you anyway?” he asked, putting his teacup on the ground beside him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Dad and Papa adopted us three-ish years ago,” Virgil explained. It was pretty sappy, but he’d always wondered the opposite - how </span>
  <em>
    <span>he’d </span>
  </em>
  <span>ended up having such cool dads, especially knowing what he knew now about Roman.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mmm, cool,” Remy said. He took a pause before continuing. “Sooo… Thomas might’ve mentioned about your other dad Logan and him not doing so good. So, like, are you- how…” he struggled, as if trying to find his words. “How is that… whole thing… with you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, uh, I mean it’s not… great?” Virgil replied. He could tell neither of them were super comfortable talking about feelings. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remy nodded. “Yeah, no, that makes sense. That… sucks. Sorry. Hope he pulls through okay.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, thanks. I hope so too,” Virgil said. He saw that Thomas was now tired enough that he was lying on the ground with a concerned Patton looking down at him. Virgil downed the rest of his tea and decided to put both Thomas and Remy out of their misery. “I’d better go rescue Thomas from Patton,” Virgil said as he stood up, handing his cup to Remy. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remy took the cup from him. “Yeah, I think your brother might’ve worn out my boyfriend.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil wandered over to where Patton and Thomas were. “Pat, I think you killed him,” Virgil joked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton made a distressed noise. “Nooo! I didn’t mean to!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thomas looked up at them for where he was lying on the ground, panting. “It’s okay, I’m just,” he breathed, “taking a break. You guys ready to head back soon? I think it’s starting to get dark.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil and Patton both nodded, taking a few minutes to let Thomas catch his breath before they headed home. As Thomas finally stood up, Remy wandered over to join them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, so like,” Remy started, “if you guys ever just wanted a place to chill out, then I’d be cool with you coming back.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton nodded enthusiastically, and Virgil gave him an affirmative shrug. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thomas grinned at him. “Awww Remy, did you get attached to these guys?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remy scoffed. “Yeah, as if. You’re just jealous that these kids are cooler than you’ll ever be.” Though no one could deny the fondness with which Remy waved goodbye to all of them as they headed home.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter 10</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Virgil sat at the dinner table, poking at the food on his plate. He was vaguely aware of Roman and Patton’s conversation about all the things Patton had done at school that day, but mostly he was preoccupied with his own thoughts so he hadn’t contributed a lot to the conversation. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman glanced at him, apparently having noticed this. “And what about you, Virgil? Did you have a good day?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I guess,” Virgil mumbled. He hadn’t, really, but wasn’t in any mood to talk about it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You guess?” Roman asked, shoving a forkful of mashed potatoes into his mouth.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I- yeah, it was </span>
  <em>
    <span>fine</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Virgil responded, a bit more forcefully than he meant to.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman swallowed his mouthful. “You sure? Everything okay?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes!” Virgil snapped, then stared down at his plate, realising that was probably a mistake.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman put down his fork and stared at him. “Virgil, if you need to talk then-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil cut him off with a groan. “Just leave it alone, okay?!” He shoved his chair back from the table with a loud scrape and stormed off to his room, leaving his half-eaten plate of food behind him. He heard his dad calling after him, but he didn’t care. He just needed to get away from </span>
  <em>
    <span>people. </span>
  </em>
  <span>He was about to slam his door shut when he had an idea. He quietly snuck into Patton’s bedroom, where the storybook was now kept, and brought the book back with him to his room. Reverie was his best shot at finding a quiet place where no one would bother him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He shut his door, picked out the key that was wedged between a few of the pages, and inserted it into the keyhole and turned it. Light enveloped him and he soon found himself in a familiar field. Finally peace and quiet… from his surroundings, anyway. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Idiot, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Virgil thought to himself, </span>
  <em>
    <span>now Dad probably hates you. And you know how much Patton hates fighting, so you definitely upset him. Good job, your whole family hates you now. Except for Papa, and that’s only because he’s-</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil hugged himself, anxious energy swirling within him. He heard a thunderclap above him, as if the weather was changing to suit his mood. The last thing he needed was to end up soaking wet, so he set off into the forest with a fast pace. It almost felt like he was trying to outrun both the weather and his thoughts, but they seemed to be following him. It was now raining above him and the wind was starting to pick up too. The trees surrounding him didn’t seem to shelter him at all from any of it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil figured it was no use and sat down under a tree, breathing heavy. Another clap of thunder, louder this time, made him jump. He drew his knees up to his chest, huddling as his hoodie started to soak through. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>What were you thinking, trying to shelter under a tree in a thunderstorm?! </span>
  </em>
  <span>He thought to himself. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Why did you even come here, this was a terrible idea and now you’re going to get struck by lightning and the last thing you’ll have ever done was fight with your dad and then run away. You always run from everything-</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Virgil?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil head jerked up in surprise to see Thomas standing in front of him, though he appeared blurry from the tears that had been forming in Virgil’s eyes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thomas knelt down in front of him. “Woah hey Virgil, it’s okay. I’m gonna need you to take deep breaths okay? Is it okay if I touch you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil shook his head to the second question, but took in a sniffly breath.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thomas nodded and kept his distance. “Alright, that’s good. Can you breath with me? In for four seconds,” he said, taking a deep breath in. Virgil tried his best to copy him. “Hold for seven seconds,” Thomas continued, both of them holding their breath. “And out for eight.” They breathed out together, though Virgil’s came out more staggered. Thomas repeated the exercise with Virgil until his breathing was more under control. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil couldn’t help but also notice that as he calmed down, the storm around him seemed to calm down too. That left him an uneasiness that remained as it continued raining. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thomas seemed to notice it too, looking around with confusion. He moved slowly and sat down next to Virgil, and if he was suspicious he didn’t mention anything at first. “You feeling better?” he asked instead, looking at Virgil with concern. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Kinda,” Virgil replied truthfully. Thomas lifted up the cape that he was wearing and put it around Virgil shoulders in an attempt to shelter Virgil slightly from the rain. Virgil shuffled a little closer to him. “Thanks.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, no problem,” Thomas said. “I learned that trick a long time ago from dealing with my own anxiety. Glad I could use it to help you.” He hesitated before continuing. “That was a weird storm though, huh?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil’s shoulders hunched. He could feel where this was going, and he wasn’t sure he liked it. “Yeah, weird.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thomas paused before continuing. “Okay, I’m gonna ask you a question, and I don’t want to make you panic again or anything, I just need to make sure,” He said, in a way that only made Virgil feel more anxious. “I know you had a run in with the Dragon Witch a while back, but… she didn’t happen to attack your or Patton with any spells, did she?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There’s what Virgil had been afraid of. He felt his hairs standing on end and there was another clap of thunder. He couldn’t seem to bring himself to answer verbally, so just gave a half-hearted shrug in response. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thomas took in a deep breath. “I’m gonna take that as a ‘yes’. Sorry Virge, but think you might’ve been cursed by the Dragon Witch.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The word ‘cursed’ stayed stuck in Virgil’s mind, repeating over and over. What had already been a terrible day had just gotten a whole lot worse. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s getting kind of cold out here, huh?” Thomas said when Virgil didn’t respond after a few minutes. “Why don’t we head back to mine and Remy’s house and dry off?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil hesitated. “Is that… safe?” He asked in a small voice. The last thing he wanted was to make even more of a mess of things. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Of course it is, Virgil,” Thomas responded sincerely. “Besides, I was also thinking… Remy might be able to help you out with this.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil frowned in confusion. “Remy?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thomas nodded. “Remy also got cursed a long time ago. He didn’t mention that?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil shook his head. “You really think he can help me?” The rain had slowed down enough now that it was barely drizzling. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Worth a shot, right?” Thomas said, standing up. He offered Virgil a hand. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil took it and was pulled to his feet. “Yeah, I guess.” It was better than nothing, at least.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The two of them walked through the forest to Thomas’ house. As Thomas let Virgil inside, they found that Remy was sitting at the kitchen table with a bored look. His face immediately lit up when he saw Virgil and Thomas. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, hey babe! Didn’t know Virge was coming to hang out, you should’ve told…” He trailed off, noticing that the two of them were soaking wet. “Yikes, what happened to you two? You looked like you got caught in a freak storm or something!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thomas shook his head for Remy to cut it out. Virgil just groaned inwardly and stared at the floor. Remy didn’t catch on, looking between Thomas and Virgil in confusion. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, about that…” Thomas said, scratching the back of his neck. “Can I talk to you for a second?” He inclined his head and signalled for Remy to follow him into the other room. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Even though Virgil knew exactly what they would be talking about, he still hated the feeling of people talking behind his back. As Remy and Thomas disappeared into the next room, he took up position with his back to the other side of the wall, straining to hear their conversation. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So what’s up? You’re acting kind of serious,” he heard Remy say.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, this </span>
  <em>
    <span>is </span>
  </em>
  <span>kind of serious,” Thomas said in a hushed tone. “Rem, I think Virgil’s been cursed.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was a pause from Remy. “Oh shit, seriously?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, he seemed pretty freaked out. The whole storm thing? That was him.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil was starting to feel cold from his damp clothes, and since it was at least slightly warmer inside the house he decided to remove his hoodie and placed it in his lap. Thomas had sounded scared when he spoke. Surely he wasn’t scared of </span>
  <em>
    <span>Virgil, </span>
  </em>
  <span>was he? Virgil tried not to think too hard about that, if only so he didn’t start a storm inside the house. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wow. Thought maybe she’d moved past her whole thing of cursing kids.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thomas sighed. “Apparently not. But hey, at least he’s got you, right? I thought you might be able to help him control it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Me?” Remy sounded unsure. “I don’t know, babe. Curses are tricky stuff, and it sounds like ours are pretty different. What if it doesn’t work the same?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Just try?” Thomas pleaded. “If it doesn’t work, we’ll try something else.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remy let out a long sigh. “Fine, I’ll </span>
  <em>
    <span>try, </span>
  </em>
  <span>but if something goes wrong it’s totally not my fault, okay?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil heard the sound of footsteps heading for the door, so he jumped up and tried to make it look like he hadn’t just been listening in the whole time. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thomas saw him waiting and gave him a reassuring smile. “Hey, I’m just gonna head upstairs and get changed into something a little more dry. I don’t think we have anything here that’ll fit you for you to change into, but can I get you a blanket or something?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil was almost going to refuse, but he was still shivering slightly. “Yeah, a blanket would be nice, please,” he mumbled.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thomas nodded and headed upstairs. Remy was leaning in the doorway to the kitchen. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Soooo….” Remy started. “Cursed, huh?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil looked away. “Yeah. Sorry.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remy blinked at him. “Uh, and why exactly are you apologising for getting cursed? That’s not your fault.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil just shrugged. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, listen up V. You wanna know how </span>
  <em>
    <span>I </span>
  </em>
  <span>got cursed? I couldn’t keep my mouth shut. Insulted the witch right to her face. What did </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>do that was so bad?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“She said, uh… she said it was because of Dad,” Virgil explained. “Because I was his kid.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ugh, of </span>
  <em>
    <span>course </span>
  </em>
  <span>she did,” Remy said with disgust. “But that’s not your fault! And look, being cursed sucks, but if you want I could try and help you learn to control it. You can even focus those powers into something useful. Like, me?” He gestured to himself. “I can do that whole dreamwalking thing, plus Thomas has trouble sleeping sometimes so I use my sleep powers on him and he sleeps like a baby. I’m sure you could learn to do some cool storm stuff too, yeah?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil still wasn’t sure. “But have you ever… lost control of them?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Me? Nah,” Remy said, “just took a while to learn how to focus them, that’s all. So? You wanna give this thing a shot?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil considered it. Remy hadn’t sounded so sure earlier about whether it would work, and Virgil wasn’t very convinced either. There wasn’t much else he could think to do, though, so he slowly nodded his head. “We could try it, I guess.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Heck yeah, V!” Remy exclaimed, giving Virgil a low five. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That sounds like a good sign.” Thomas entered from the stairs holding a blanket and wearing a new, dry set of clothes. “Here you go, Virge,” he said, handing the blanket to him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil wrapped it around his shoulders. “Thanks. I should, uh, probably head home though. I didn’t exactly tell anyone where I was going.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thomas’ eyes widened. “Oh shoot, really? It’s pretty dark, so I’ll come with you to the castle portal home, alright? Don’t want your dad to worry about you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil had a feeling it was already too late for that, but he nodded. “Yeah, sure.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As they were leaving, Remy called out to him. “Hey V, we’ll start on that whole power training thing tomorrow, ‘kay?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Virgil agreed. “Tomorrow.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Chapter 11</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The next day Virgil and Remy started Virgil’s training as planned. The first thing Remy taught him was simply how to summon his powers voluntarily, since that seemed to be something Virgil was struggling with. He didn’t get very far, finding it was difficult to summon even a small breeze when he was </span>
  <em>
    <span>trying </span>
  </em>
  <span>to. So the day after, they started smaller, and Virgil managed to get a small ball of electrical charge to appear between his fingers. It fizzled out pretty quickly, but Remy seemed very pleased with him, and Virgil was secretly proud of himself too. They continued this on and off for about a week, Virgil slowly getting the hang of his powers.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The problems only started up again when Patton noticed that his brother was sneaking off without him, and decided to follow. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil hadn’t really told Patton about the whole curse thing. He did plan to eventually, once he got his powers under control. Once he was sure he wouldn’t hurt Patton. Patton tried to bring it up with him a few times, suggesting that he and Virgil explore the kingdom together, but Virgil had just brushed him off. His training took up a lot of time anyway, and Virgil felt bad about not spending as much time with his brother. But this was for the best in the end, right?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So Patton, concerned that his brother was leaving him behind but also curious as to what he was up to, carefully trailed a good distance behind Virgil as he headed off towards Remy’s house.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remy was waiting for him when Virgil arrived. “Hey V, you ready for today?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil gave a hesitant nod. “Yeah, I think so.” They’d agreed the day before that Virgil was going to attempt to summon a rainstorm. Not a big one, just a cloud big enough to cover a small area. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, do your thing!” Remy encouraged.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil took a deep, calming breath, then held out his hands. Electricity sparked between his fingers, and soon a small cloud started to form. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Come on, </span>
  </em>
  <span>he thought to himself. The cloud grew bigger and bigger in front of him, the wind picking up slightly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>No, not wind, rain! C’mon, rain… </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He saw a single raindrop fall out from the cloud and splash onto the grass, and before long there was a small deluge of rain falling down onto the ground. The wind was still blowing gently around him though, so he took another deep breath to try and calm it. He could almost feel himself controlling it when he heard Patton calling out to him from a few feet away. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Virgil?” Patton called to him, staring with wide eyes. “Wow, that’s so cool! I didn’t know you had powers!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil’s concentration immediately evaporated. “Patton, what are you doing here?!” He could already feel the wind picking up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remy stepped in. “Woah, okay, just step this way Pat,” he said, beckoning Patton towards him. “Virgil, it’s fine, just keep it together!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil felt decidedly </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>together. Patton wasn’t supposed to be there, Virgil wasn’t ready for him to see this,</span>
  <em>
    <span> no no no he was going to get hurt- </span>
  </em>
  <span>A thunder clap sounded overhead, causing Patton to yelp and rush over to Remy. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh, nice going Virgil, you scared him! He’s right to be scared of you though, isn’t he? You’re only gonna end up hurting him, it’s only a matter of time. </span>
  </em>
  <span>The wind only got worse and worse, and as Virgil’s thoughts darkened so did the sky above him. Electricity was now circling his whole body, crackling from his fingertips as if it was ready to shoot out at any moment. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Virgil!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil jerked his head towards Remy as his name was called. At the same time, a bolt of lightning struck the ground several feet away from him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remy looked at him with desperate eyes. “V, you’ve gotta chill out! Come on!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil took in a gasp of air, only just having realised he’d been holding it in. What had Thomas said? As he remembered, he breathed. In for four, hold for seven, out for eight. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, that’s it! You’ve got this!” Remy yelled over the wind. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil continued breathing until the wind and the rain subsided. His legs buckled beneath him and he dropped to the ground. His whole body was still shaking. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton was looking at him with a mix of fear and concern. “Virgil?” He moved in to give Virgil a hug, but Virgil flinched away from him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t…” Virgil said in a hoarse voice, his eyes fixed on the burn mark in the grass from where the lightning had struck. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remy squatted down beside him. “That was a close one, huh? It’s fine though, you’re good.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil shook his head. He sure didn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>feel </span>
  </em>
  <span>good. He scrambled to his feet and started backing away from Remy and Patton, in case something else went wrong. Clearly he couldn’t afford for that to happen. He had to find some way to fix this, now.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton tried to move towards Virgil again, but Remy held out a hand in front of him to stop him. “Pat, give him some space.” Remy said, realising what Virgil was about to do. “Hey, Virgil. Seriously, it’s okay.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No it’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span>!” Virgil choked out, and bolted into the woods. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He ran as fast as his legs could carry him. Maybe he’d been making progress, but it wasn’t going to be enough. This curse was always going to be dangerous and it was just </span>
  <em>
    <span>too much.</span>
  </em>
  <span> So he had to get rid of it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He banged on the Dragon Witch’s door. He waited for an answer, but when there was none he shoved the door open anyway with a frustrated grunt. He found her sitting in the armchair by the fireplace, as if she’d been waiting for him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This is the second time you’ve come into my house without asking,” the Dragon Witch said with a sigh. “I’ll let it slide this time. How are those new powers treating you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Get rid of them,” Virgil said through gritted teeth. “I don’t care how, just- fix this.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Can’t do that, I’m afraid,” the Dragon Witch replied. “I’m sure you’ll come around to them in time.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil clenched his fists. “No. I don’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>want </span>
  </em>
  <span>to ‘come around to them’, I want them gone!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Dragon Witch hummed. “A shame, really.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why are you doing this?!” Virgil shouted. “I get it, you don’t like my dad, but why did it have to be me?! Why- why now, I don’t-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I think if you’ll remember, you were the one who decided to take the full force of a spell that was intended for two people,” she said, as though it was somehow his fault. “If you like, I could finish the job and curse your brother as well like I’d intended?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t you </span>
  <em>
    <span>dare,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Virgil growled, electricity flowing through his body. There was no way he was dragging Patton into this any more than he already had. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Dragon Witch looked at him with interest. “Hmm. Just as I thought. Let me explain it this way,” she began, “these powers are reliant entirely on the user - what they manifest as, and how powerfully they manifest. They’re inherently neither good or bad, that all depends on you. The closest you can do to getting rid of them is to control them.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But I </span>
  <em>
    <span>can’t,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Virgil said, exasperated. “I can’t control them, and since you’re the one who did this then </span>
  <em>
    <span>you’ll</span>
  </em>
  <span> have to figure out a way to get rid of them.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And I’ve already told you, there’s nothing I can do,” the Dragon Witch explained in an impatient tone. “The spell is irreversible. It cannot be undone. Not even by me, even if I wanted to.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But that’s- ugh!” Sparks were now flying off of Virgil and dark clouds were beginning to surround him. She’d done this to him, and now she was telling him there was no way to undo it?! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Dragon Witch stood up and glowered at him. “I think you should leave,” she warned, “before </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>end up doing something irreversible.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil wanted to snap back at her, but found that fear and doubt were seeping back into his mind. What if he </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>lose control again and end up doing something he couldn’t fix? He exhaled through his nose. “Fine,” he mumbled. He exited through the front door, almost slamming it as he forcefully pulled it shut it behind him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>What was he supposed to do now?</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Chapter 12</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Virgil found that he was walking through the forest a lot these days. This was a longer walk than usual, though. After his unproductive visit to the Dragon Witch’s house, he needed some time to clear his head. He’d almost turned down the path that led back towards Remy’s house, but… no, he wasn’t ready for that just yet. So he kept walking deeper into the forest, even past the clearing that they always appeared in whenever they first arrived in Reverie, until he was in completely unfamiliar territory. He tried not too think too hard about how he’d find his way back but, well, when did trying <em> not </em>to think about something ever work out for him?</p><p> </p><p>He was so caught up in not thinking about it that he almost didn’t notice that he was no longer alone in the forest.</p><p> </p><p>That is, until he and Remus ran straight into each other.</p><p> </p><p>Virgil was startled so badly that he jumped back and inadvertently caused a clap of thunder. Of all the people Virgil hadn’t wanted to run into (which, to be fair, included everyone) his uncle who’d tried to trap him in Reverie hadn’t exactly been at the top of his list. He definitely was now, though. </p><p> </p><p>Remus looked at the sky suspiciously, then at Virgil in a similar manner. “There’s no clouds up there.”</p><p> </p><p>Virgil glanced up, but already knew Remus was right. He just shrugged at him, and turned to leave. He really didn’t want to do this right now.</p><p> </p><p>“It was you, wasn’t it?”</p><p> </p><p>Virgil turned his head to look back at Remus. “...no?” he replied, but he’d hesitated for a moment too long, confirming Remus’ suspicions. </p><p> </p><p>Remus burst out laughing. “Oh, it <em> was </em>you! And in the castle, with the guard? That was you too, wasn’t it?” He continued cackling. </p><p> </p><p>Virgil huffed. “It’s not funny.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, I think it is!” Remus said, giggling. “How many people have you electrocuted? Oh, do me next! I’ve always wondered what it would feel like!”</p><p> </p><p>“No, I’m not doing that!” Virgil hissed. “Don’t you get it?! That’s dangerous, <em> I’m </em>dangerous!”</p><p> </p><p>Remus rolled his eyes. “Oh, you’re not so scary. As long as I’m here, there’s no way <em> you’re </em>the most dangerous thing in this forest.”</p><p> </p><p>That didn’t exactly comfort Virgil. “Look, just leave me alone, alright?!” He trailed off into a mumble. “It’s better for both of us.”</p><p> </p><p>Remus considered him. “Let me guess, this whole thing is because of the Dragon Witch?” Virgil gave a hesitant nod, and Remus hummed. “Well then it’s your lucky day, little nephew! ‘Cause I know someone who might be able to help.” </p><p> </p><p>Virgil glared at him. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”</p><p> </p><p>“Eh, suit yourself!” Remus said, shrugging nonchalantly. “If I were you, I wouldn’t want to restrain that neat little party trick either!”</p><p> </p><p>Virgil groaned. He couldn’t believe he was agreeing to this. “Alright, fine. Who’s this person who can supposedly help me?”</p><p> </p><p>Remus gave Virgil what was probably supposed to be a comforting smile, but it just made him feel sick. <em> This is a bad idea </em>, Virgil thought as Remus led him through the forest. But what else did he have left to try? Clearly Remy’s approach wasn’t getting him anywhere, at least not as fast as he needed it to. At this point, Virgil was getting desperate. </p><p> </p><p>The trees of the forest soon thinned out and opened into a valley, and Virgil got a pretty clear idea of where they were heading. Even dwarfed by the surrounding mountains that Virgil had always been able to see in the distance from the castle, the lone tower sitting beneath them was still an ominous sight. He tried to swallow down his fear, but as often seemed to be the case these days it just made his mouth feel dry. </p><p> </p><p>Remus didn’t bother knocking on the door, instead slamming it wide open and charging through. “Janus, I found something in the woods!”</p><p> </p><p>A loud sigh came from the next room. “Well whatever it is, I’m sure it would be better left <em>outside.</em>”</p><p> </p><p>Remus huffed and then turned to Virgil with what was probably supposed to be a reassuring smile and gestured for him to follow. </p><p> </p><p>Virgil grimaced and stepped cautiously into the tower. There was a small corridor that had stairs leading up to the left, but he followed Remus into the tower’s spacious first floor room, standing slightly behind his uncle just in case. He wasn’t sure why he’d let himself wander into the sort of situation where <em> Remus </em>was potentially the safest thing in the room. Virgil could see a man sitting upright in an ornate chair, not looking at either of them as he flipped a page of the book he was reading. </p><p> </p><p>“Janus, look!” Remus said impatiently, in a childish way that partly reminded Virgil of whenever Patton was trying to get someone’s attention. </p><p> </p><p>Janus exhaled through his nose and closed his book, placing it on the desk next to him. “If you’ve brought home another animal in any sort of state, alive <em> or </em>dead, I’m going to…” He trailed off when he craned his neck around and locked eyes with Virgil. “Remus.”</p><p> </p><p>“Mhm?”</p><p> </p><p>“Please, <em> please </em>tell me you didn’t kidnap a child.”</p><p> </p><p>Remus burst out laughing so loudly that Virgil jumped. “No! This one came willingly! Janus, this is my nephew Virgil!”</p><p> </p><p>That definitely got Janus’ attention. He grabbed the bowler hat that was sitting on the desk beside him and placed it on his head, before standing up and turning around to face them fully. Virgil inhaled sharply, now finally able to see Janus’ full face - half of it was human, but the other half was distinctly reptilian, including one yellow slitted eye that was peering at him with scrutiny. </p><p> </p><p>“Please step aside, Remus,” Janus asked calmly. As Remus did so, Janus walked towards Virgil until he was standing directly in front of him. He bent down slightly so that him and Virgil were eye to eye. “I’m going to need you to answer honestly, Virgil, and don’t bother lying because I am <em> very </em>good at spotting them. Did you come here of your own free will?”</p><p> </p><p>Virgil glanced at Remus, who was rolling his eyes, before looking back at Janus. “Uh… yeah? Remus said you could help with control curse.”</p><p> </p><p>“He’s got storm powers!” Remus chimed in. “I’m starting to wonder if maybe I should ask the Dragon Witch to curse me!” </p><p> </p><p>Janus gave him a sly smile. “You don’t need a curse, you <em> are </em>a curse.”</p><p> </p><p>Remus cackled and put his hands on his hips, unoffended. “You’re right! And I’m very proud of it!”</p><p> </p><p>Janus turned his attention back to Virgil. “As you can most likely tell, I’ve had a few… run-ins with the witch herself,” he said, gesturing to the snake side of his face. “It does come with a few advantages, however.” With that, his skin started to shift and reshape itself. He began shrinking, and before long Janus had shapeshifted so that he looked exactly like Virgil.</p><p> </p><p>“Woah…” Virgil breathed, walking around Janus’ disguised form to get a better look at it. He was surprised when Janus also started speaking in his voice.</p><p> </p><p>“You can imagine where a skill like this would come in handy,” Janus remarked, before shifting back into his own form and speaking with his own voice again. “Especially for someone like me who is not so popular with the people of Reverie.”</p><p> </p><p>Virgil frowned. “Why not?”</p><p> </p><p>“Unlike Remus, I wasn’t banished but… Well. It’s a sore subject, so let’s leave that for another time, hmm?” Janus continued before Virgil could ask further. “Now about these powers of yours, what would you say is the trigger for them?”</p><p> </p><p>Virgil scratched the back of his neck. “They kind of just happen whenever I get freaked out, I guess.”</p><p> </p><p>Janus hummed. “I see… so they’re fear based, then?”</p><p> </p><p>“Something like that,” Virgil said, shrugging. </p><p> </p><p>“Interesting…” Janus’ eyes shifted back and forth, before widening slightly with an idea. His skin began to shift again, but instead of shifting into Virgil this time, he began to take on a different shape that was nonetheless familiar to Virgil. Soon the form of the Dragon Witch stood in front of him, looming over him with piercing eyes. “Tell me, have you ever seen the Dragon Witch’s true form?” </p><p> </p><p>Virgil shook his head. Even though rationally he knew that it wasn’t really the Dragon Witch standing in front of him, he couldn’t help the nervousness that was forming inside his stomach. </p><p> </p><p>“Well I have, and it is something truly… <em> terrifying </em>.” With an emphasis on that final word, the shape of the Dragon Witch shifted again and started growing taller and wider, purple scales beginning to appear as Janus to the shape of an enormous dragon, reaching almost to the top of the high ceiling above them.</p><p> </p><p>Virgil’s nervousness quickly turned into fear, but the transition was so fast that his powers began to do something unexpected. Instead of the regular thunder and lightning of a storm swirling around him, pitch black clouds began to form closely around him. Tiny sparks of electricity shot off of him as his heart raced. The black clouds fully encompassed his form, so much so that he was unable to see. Then Virgil felt as though something dragged the clouds directly off him, but interestingly they seemed to have retained his humanoid shape.</p><p> </p><p>Virgil stared at it, and it stared back at him with eyes made of pure white lightning. Terrifyingly, it opened its mouth and spoke. </p><p> </p><p>“<b><em>What are you doing?!</em> </b> ” it hissed, voice deep and distorted like thunder. “<b><em>Don’t just stand there, she’s gonna kill you!</em> </b>”</p><p> </p><p>Virgil gaped at the shadow. That thing had come from <em> him?! </em> </p><p> </p><p>The shadow groaned and moved towards him, causing Virgil to back away slowly. “<b><em>Didn’t you hear me? Go!</em> </b>”</p><p> </p><p>Virgil glanced at the dragon above him, who seemed to be watching with keen eyes. The dragon then exhaled through his nose and began shifting back into Janus’ original form. The shadow whipped around and watched as Janus reappeared before them. </p><p> </p><p>Janus’ eyes shifted between Virgil and the shadow. “Well, that was-”</p><p> </p><p>“<em>What the heck was that?! </em>” both Virgil and his shadow said in unison. </p><p> </p><p>Remus, who had been watching the whole thing from the side, scoffed. “‘Heck’? <em> Somebody </em> really needs to teach you some better swear words. I personally volunteer!”</p><p> </p><p>Janus ignored Remus and focused on Virgil. “Forgive me Virgil, I just wanted to see your powers first hand. Though I have to say, <em> this,</em>” he gestured to the shadow, “is very unexpected.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, well, this has never happened before for me either,” Virgil said, blood still rushing in his ears. He sunk down and took a seat on the floor, exhausted. The shadow didn’t move, eyeing Janus warily in case he did anything else. “So what, did you figure anything out from that? Can you get rid of the curse? Or did you just freak me out for no reason?”</p><p> </p><p>Janus sighed. “Unfortunately, the curses are irreversible. Trust me, I’ve looked into it for a long time. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t learn anything from this little experiment.”</p><p> </p><p>“<b> <em>Oh yeah?</em> </b> ” The shadow sneered at him. “<b><em>And how many more experiments is this gonna take, huh? How do we know we can trust you?</em> </b>” Virgil also looked at Janus expectantly, having secretly been wondering the same thing.</p><p> </p><p>“You don’t. You can never be sure who you can trust,” Janus answered honestly. “But let me put it this way though: you’re a prince, correct? Roman’s left you this kingdom full of people. What do you think would happen if, say, any of Reverie’s citizens saw your shadow friend. Or if your powers got out of control in the middle of a crowd. How understanding do you suppose they would be? Trust can be lost very quickly.” Janus adjusted his yellow gloves. “Take my word on that, I have… personal experience.”</p><p> </p><p>“<b><em>Yeah, I’m still not convinced,</em> </b>” the shadow said, electricity shifting across it as it crossed its arms. </p><p> </p><p>“You want control of your powers, I can teach you that. It’s that simple. So?” He offered Virgil his hand.</p><p> </p><p>Virgil glanced over at his shadow, who was shaking his head. Virgil ignored it and stepped forward, shaking Janus’ hand. “Deal.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Chapter 13</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Janus, seeing that Virgil had clearly had enough for the day, said they would start work another time and sent him on his way. Remus seemed almost sad as he waved goodbye to him, though Virgil couldn’t quite say the same as he’d been preoccupied with other thoughts. </p><p> </p><p>The shadow was still following him, and it was not happy.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>What were you thinking?! </em> ” the shadow demanded to know. “<em>You do get that we can’t trust him, right? He set off your powers on purpose! And he’s obviously hiding something-</em>”</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, I get it!” Virgil snapped. “I already tried everything else, what do you want me to do about it?” He stopped walking and glared at the shadow. “And how do I know I can trust <em> you</em>? What even are you?”</p><p> </p><p>The shadow shoved its hands in its cloud-hoodie pockets. “<em>How should I know? You made me.</em>”</p><p> </p><p>Virgil rolled his eyes and kept walking. “Great. Any ideas how I get rid of you?”</p><p> </p><p>The shadow snorted. “<em>Nope. Add me to your pile of failures, ‘cause you’re stuck with me until you figure it out.</em>”</p><p> </p><p>“Well there’d better be a way, because I’m not just gonna walk through the city with you,” Virgil grumbled.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Yeah, that’d be bad, </em> ” the shadow agreed. “ <em> If they see me and figure out that it’s you, they’re definitely gonna hate you. Probably banish you too, and then you’ll get kicked out of the city with no way to get back home. And once that three day limit’s up, then-</em>”</p><p> </p><p>“Dude, cut it out!” Virgil growled. “You’re not helping!”</p><p> </p><p>The shadow held up a defensive hand. “<em>Hey, I’m just saying.</em>”</p><p> </p><p>“Well, don’t.” Virgil groaned and rubbed his eyes. “Alright, I’m gonna try something so just stay still.” </p><p> </p><p>Surprisingly, the shadow obeyed, allowing Virgil to approach it. He braced himself and reached out both his hands. Since the shadow was made of clouds, there wasn’t much to make contact with, although small trickles of electricity started dancing across Virgil’s fingertips. He concentrated and, just as he’d hoped, the shadow slowly began to dissipate. The shadow’s eyes and other features disappeared, and soon the whole thing was completely gone. Virgil breathed a sigh of relief. Now all he had to do was sneak through the back alleys that Thomas had shown him after his and Patton’s coronation and he could go home and finally be done with this terrible day. </p><p> </p><p>He successfully managed to find his way to the castle, stepping through the throne room’s portal and back into his own world. He was ready to collapse onto his bed and take a nap, but found that Patton was sitting there waiting for him. He internally groaned. Great, just what he needed.</p><p> </p><p>“Virgil!” Patton exclaimed as Virgil materialised into the room. “I was waiting for you at Remy and Thomas’ house for ages, but you never came back so I thought I’d just wait for you here!”</p><p> </p><p>Virgil sighed and sat down on the chair by his desk instead, trying not to think about the unfinished homework he’d left sitting there. “Yeah, I uh… took a walk.” <em> Don’t tell him where you went, if he knows he’ll follow you again. It’s better this way.  </em></p><p> </p><p>“Oh, okay,” Patton said, fiddling with the cardigan that was tied around his waist. “It’s so cool that you have powers though!”</p><p> </p><p>“Shh, Pat! Not so loud!” Virgil hushed him. He noticed the door was ajar, and gently kicked it shut from his chair. “I don’t want Dad to find out.”</p><p> </p><p>Patton gave him a confused frown. “Why not?”</p><p> </p><p>Virgil huffed. “I’m just… I’m not ready yet, okay? I’ll tell him later, but until then just don’t mention it.”</p><p> </p><p>Patton still seemed unconvinced, but nodded anyway. “I won’t, I promise. But umm, I was wondering if we could go to the kingdom together tomorrow.” He looked at Virgil hopefully.</p><p> </p><p>“Sorry Pat, I’ve got stuff to do,” Virgil said. It wasn’t exactly a lie, but it still made his heart ache a little at Patton’s dejected expression. “Maybe later. I’m kinda tired now, so could you leave me alone for a bit?”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh. Okay…” He stood up from Virgil’s bed with drooped shoulders. His cardigan had come loose from fiddling with it and was left behind on the bed. Virgil sighed and picked it up.</p><p> </p><p>“Pat?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah?” Patton whipped around excitedly as he expected Virgil to say something else, but deflated slightly when he saw Virgil holding out his cardigan. “Oh,” he said flatly, and took it from Virgil’s hands before shuffling his way out of the room. </p><p> </p><p>Virgil felt like a bit of a jerk as he shut the door behind Patton, and all he could do was try to convince himself that it was better for both of them to keep Patton out of the way for now.</p><p> </p><p>A few days later, he made his way back to the tower. He decided to avoid Remy’s place for now, partly due to embarrassment over his freak out from the other day, and partly due to guilt from replacing him as his mentor so quickly in favour of Janus. </p><p> </p><p>“<em>He’s gonna find out eventually.</em>”</p><p> </p><p>Virgil groaned loudly and turned to find that his shadow was back in its physical form, and pessimistic as always. “Are you just following me everywhere now?”</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Who’s to say he doesn’t already know? </em> ” The shadow continued, ignoring his question. “ <em> Here’s an idea: why don’t just never talk to him again? Then we can avoid the whole confrontation thing, and you never bother him again. Seems like a win on all sides to me.</em>”</p><p> </p><p>It was Virgil’s turn to try and ignore him, though the shadow didn’t seem to take notice or care and continued externalising thoughts that had been passing through Virgil’s head for the past few days. He only barely managed to get his shadow to settle back into him before he approached the tower.</p><p> </p><p>Virgil was surprised when he knocked on the door of the tower and it was Remus who answered him.</p><p> </p><p>“Virgil!” He said excitedly. “Janus isn’t here right now, he’s off getting food. I offered to get it for him but he said he ‘didn’t trust me’ and that ‘my version of food is entirely inedible’. No idea what he meant by that! If you can eat it, it counts as food in my books!” </p><p> </p><p>Virgil tried not to imagine too hard what Remus’ version of food was as he followed him inside. Sure enough, Janus was not in the tower, but Remus plopped himself down on the floor and patted the space beside him for Virgil to join him. </p><p> </p><p>“While ol’ Janman is doing his thing, why don’t I get to know my favourite nephew?” Remus said as Virgil sat down on the ground. Noticing Virgil was sitting a fair distance from him, Remus scooted forward. “No offense to the other one, but I wasn’t exactly having a great day the last time I saw him! Where is he, anyway?”</p><p> </p><p>“Patton? Oh, uh… I told him to stay behind,” Virgil mumbled.</p><p> </p><p>Remus tilted his head at him. “Looks like ditching siblings runs in the family!” </p><p> </p><p>“What? No!” Virgil said defensively. “It’s just better if he stays out of the way. I’m just… keeping him safe.”</p><p> </p><p>“If you’re sure!” Remus said. “I’m not sure that’s how he’d see it though!”</p><p> </p><p>Virgil hunched his shoulders and stared at the ground. He knew Patton was probably missing him, and was becoming less and less sure by the second that he was doing the right thing. His shoulders relaxed slightly as a thought occurred to him. He glanced over at Remus, who seemed distracted. “Do you… ever miss Dad?”</p><p> </p><p>Remus turned his attention back to Virgil and blinked. “Who, Roman?” He said, almost incredulously. “It would be pretty weird if I missed him after he kinda ruined my life!” He leaned back until his back was flat on the floor. “Then again,” he said softly, “I’m a pretty weird guy.”</p><p> </p><p>Virgil considered Remus carefully, as if seeing him in a new light. He was about to ask him more questions when Janus arrived. </p><p> </p><p>“Oh good Virgil, you’re here,” Janus remarked, placing his armfuls of fresh produce on a counter near the tower’s small kitchen area. “Then we can get started. I hope Remus wasn’t too much trouble.”</p><p> </p><p>Virgil looked over at Remus, who was back in a sitting position, and gave him a smirk. “Nah, he was fine.” Remus seemed surprised by that and smiled back at him.</p><p> </p><p>“Good,” Janus said. “Is there any way you could summon your shadow friend from the other day?”</p><p> </p><p>On cue, dark clouds formed next to Virgil and the shadow appeared, glowering at Janus. “<b><em>What do you want? </em></b>” it snapped.</p><p> </p><p>“He is very defensive,” Janus mused, stepping closer to take a better look at it. The shadow instinctively moved in front of Virgil. “And protective as well, it seems. You do understand what this is, don’t you Virgil?” Virgil shook his head, so Janus elaborated. “From what you’ve told me, your magic reacts to fear. It seems that your fear and magic have combined into… something else.” </p><p> </p><p>Virgil glanced at the shadow. “So what, it’s like… feeding off my fears or something?”</p><p> </p><p>Janus sighed. “No, though you’re right in thinking that they’re connected. This is just me speculating, but I think it’s-” He was interrupted by someone banging on the tower door. He furrowed his eyebrows. “Excuse me for a moment.”</p><p> </p><p>Virgil and his shadow both watched as Janus left the room. Was Janus expecting someone else? His heart dropped when he heard Janus talking to them.</p><p> </p><p>“Remy,” Janus said dryly. “To what do we owe this pleasure?”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Chapter 14</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It had been a few days since Remy had seen Virgil. The kid probably just needed some space, he had figured. He was lying around on the balcony of his house when he heard a knock on the door below him. Wondering if Virgil had finally had enough time to himself, he leaned over the balcony to see who it was. Who he saw nervously standing outside the door was not Virgil, but Patton, rocking back and forward on his feet as he waited. </p><p> </p><p>Remy peered over his sunglasses and called down to him. “Patton? Whatcha doing?”</p><p> </p><p>Patton looked up at him, his face lighting up. “Remy! Hi! Is Virgil here?”</p><p> </p><p>Remy sighed, crossing his arms and leaning on the balcony railing. “Nah, haven’t seen him since you were here last.”</p><p> </p><p>Patton bit his lip. “But he’s not at home, so I thought…”</p><p> </p><p>Remy frowned. “Hang on, I’ll be down in just a sec.” He slipped his sunglasses back up his nose and grabbed his coat that was hanging on the lounge he’d been sunbathing on. He quickly made his way down to the front door and opened it, Patton still waiting there for him. “You’re sure he’s not home?” Remy asked. Patton nodded. “Huh.” He leaned over his shoulder and called out to Thomas, who was sitting in the kitchen. “Hey babe, have you seen Virge lately?”</p><p> </p><p>“No I haven’t, why?” Thomas called back.</p><p> </p><p>“Patton doesn’t know where he is. Maybe we should go look for him?”</p><p> </p><p>There was the scraping of a chair against the floor and Thomas appeared next to him, looking worried. “I think that’s a good idea. I’ll go check the castle and the city. You take Patton and check the forest. Patton, you stay close to Remy okay? We don’t need two lost kids.”<br/><br/></p><p>Patton nodded seriously, and two of them split off from Thomas and wandered into the forest. </p><p> </p><p>“Sooo,” Remy began awkwardly, not really ever having had a proper conversation with Patton before, “I haven’t seen Virgil since he ran off the other day. He did go home after that, right?”</p><p> </p><p>Patton nodded. “I saw him earlier today.”</p><p> </p><p>“Well that’s something, I guess!” Remy said, relieved. “Did he tell you about the whole curse thing?” </p><p> </p><p>“Curse?” Patton asked with wide eyes. “I didn’t know it was a curse! I just thought he had cool powers!”</p><p> </p><p>“Uh, yeah, that’s how he <em> got </em>his powers, duh,” Remy said. “I thought you were with him when you guys met the Dragon Witch.”</p><p> </p><p>“Ummm… oh yeah!” Patton remembered. “He got hit with some sorta spell. He said he was fine though.” He looked up at Remy with sad eyes. “Virgil hasn’t been talking to me much lately. We usually tell each other everything… maybe I did something wrong?”</p><p> </p><p>“Nah, I think he’s just got a lot going on in his head,” Remy mused. “Would be nice if he talked about it though, huh?”</p><p> </p><p>Patton nodded, and Remy couldn’t help but give him a pat on his head. That was a thing people did to comfort other people, right? It definitely seemed to lift Patton’s spirits slightly as they continued searching. Soon they had circled all the way back to Remy’s house, with still no sign of Virgil. When Thomas came back alone, Remy was starting to get nervous. </p><p> </p><p>“Nothing?” Remy asked.</p><p> </p><p>Thomas shook his head. “Sorry. No one in the city’s seen him, either.”</p><p> </p><p>An unpleasant thought entered Remy’s head as to where Virgil might be. He <em> had </em> run off in that direction the other day. He guided Patton, who was still standing by his side, over towards Thomas.</p><p> </p><p>“You good here? I might just go and check something,” Remy said. Thomas looked at him, confused. Remy sighed. “It’s a small chance, but maybe… the tower? Just in case, y’know?”</p><p> </p><p>Thomas’ eyes widened with understanding. “He wouldn’t go there, would he?”</p><p> </p><p>Remy shrugged. “If he didn’t know any better, he might.”</p><p> </p><p>Patton looked between the two adults with confusion. “Wait, I wanna go help find Virgil!”</p><p> </p><p>“Nuh-uh, you’re not going anywhere near that place,” Remy refused. “You just stay right here with Thomas until I come back.”</p><p> </p><p>Patton looked at Thomas, but he just gave him a sympathetic look. “Sorry Pat, Remy’s right.”</p><p> </p><p>“Awww…” Patton pouted. “Come back with Virgil soon?”</p><p> </p><p>Remy ruffled his hair. “You got it, Patty-cakes.” He kissed Thomas on the cheek and headed off alone. On the one hand, if Virgil wasn’t at the tower he had no idea where he would be. But if he was...</p><p> </p><p>Well, Remy would just deal with that once he got there.</p><p> </p><p>He pounded on the door of the tower, almost hoping no one would answer. He was disappointed, then, when the door opened and Janus was standing on the other side. </p><p> </p><p>Janus seemed just as pleased to see him. “Remy,” Janus said dryly. “To what do we owe this pleasure?”</p><p> </p><p>“Nice to see you too, Jan,” Remy replied in a snide tone. “I’m actually not here to see you though, surprising right? I’m looking for a kid, his brother’s pretty worried about him.”</p><p> </p><p>“Ah, you’re looking for Virgil,” Janus said. “Well you can tell his brother that Virgil is perfectly safe and well. We’re in the middle of something, so you can just leave him with me-”</p><p> </p><p>“Mmm, yeah that’s not happening,” Remy butted in and pushed past Janus. Virgil was looking at him like a deer caught in the headlights. “C’mon V, time to go.”</p><p> </p><p>Virgil didn’t move. “Uh, actually Janus was sort of helping me out with my curse.” He winced as Remy narrowed his eyes at him.</p><p> </p><p>“I thought <em> I </em>was helping you with your powers,” Remy said, suspiciously glancing at Janus. “What, you trust him more than me?”</p><p> </p><p>“No! It’s not that!” Virgil said defensively. “But you said it yourself, you’ve never lost control of your powers like I have, so…”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, is that what he said?” Janus said, amused. </p><p> </p><p>Remy shot him a warning glance. “Jan, don’t. Virgil, let’s go.”</p><p> </p><p>Virgil stayed where he was, looking between the two of them. “What do you mean?”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, nothing.” Janus smirked. “It’s just funny to me that Remy so generously offered to help you control your powers, while leaving out the small detail of when <em> he </em>was banished from the kingdom for losing control of his.”</p><p> </p><p>Remy glared daggers at him. “Oh, so that’s how you wanna do this? Fine!” He placed a hand on his hip. “Then I guess you don’t mind me telling Virgil that you were the one who banished me in the first place?”</p><p> </p><p>Virgil’s eyes widened, looking at Janus. “You <em> what?! </em>”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah!” Remy said, confident that Virgil seemed to be leaning towards his side. “You remember when I told you the guy in charge back then was a real jerk? He was the guy!”</p><p> </p><p>Janus rolled his eyes. “Then how about you mention that it was only because <em> you </em>lost control of your powers so badly that the whole kingdom fell asleep? The people would have turned on you once they found out anyway, I was doing you a favour!”</p><p> </p><p>“How do you know that for sure?” Remy pointed out. </p><p> </p><p>Janus gestured to the scales on his face. “I have personal experience.”</p><p> </p><p>Remy scoffed. “Yeah, you didn’t have that <em> personal experience </em>when you banished me!”</p><p> </p><p>“Was I wrong, though?”</p><p> </p><p>Remy let out a long, drawn-out sigh. He wasn’t going to answer that. “Anyway, that was a long time ago! Sorry for not wanting to disclose my tragic backstory or whatever! Can I take V and leave already?”</p><p> </p><p>Janus gave a pointed look towards Virgil. “Virgil, you don’t have to go anywhere if you don’t want to.”</p><p> </p><p>Virgil looked like he was about to say something, but Remy was getting tired of this so he reached out to grab Virgil’s arm. That was apparently the wrong thing to do. Virgil was caught off-guard by it and Remy felt the muscles in his arm tense up painfully as electricity shot into him. He yelped and pulled his arm back. He stared at Virgil, whose face had gone pale, and all of the harsh words he was about to say died on his tongue. </p><p> </p><p>“I…” Virgil trailed off, and a weird black haze started to surround him as his face hardened. “I think you should leave,” he said softly, firmly, as he stared at Remy. </p><p> </p><p>Remy shared a glance with Janus. They were going to have to be very careful about how they proceeded. </p><p> </p><p>“Hey, V, it’s my fault okay? I shouldn’t have done that,” Remy said gently. “But I’m okay! See, look.” As he held up his arm to demonstrate, he failed to hide his wince of pain. </p><p><br/>The black haze around Virgil’s form thickened, and his voice became loud and distorted. “<em>I said </em> <b> <em>get out.</em></b>”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Chapter 15</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Patton and Thomas were sitting by the window inside Thomas’ house. Thomas had suggested that they play a game or something to keep themselves occupied, but Patton had refused to move from his spot by the window, checking constantly to see if Remy or Virgil had come back. </p><p> </p><p>“Pleeease can we go help?” Patton pleaded for the fifth time since Remy had left.</p><p> </p><p>Thomas just sighed. “I know it’s hard, but we have to wait here.”</p><p> </p><p>“But something’s <em> wrong! </em> ” Patton protested, bouncing up and down nervously. “Virgil didn’t want me or Dad to know about the curse, and he keeps leaving me behind and I don’t know <em> why! </em>” He started to tear up. “If something’s wrong, then I wanna be there!”</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, hey,” Thomas soothed, crouching down beside him. “It’s okay, Pat.”</p><p> </p><p>Patton sniffled and a tear rolled down his cheek. “I don’t get it, why can’t I go?”</p><p> </p><p>Thomas ran a hand through his hair. “Someone lives there who Remy doesn’t like very much. That’s why we don’t want you going there, okay?” He hoped an explanation might calm Patton down.</p><p> </p><p>Patton only became more hysterical. “But if Virgil’s there with someone not very nice, then that’s even worse!”</p><p> </p><p>Thomas quickly felt his resolve fading. “It could be dangerous,” he said, trying to convince himself not to go as much as he was trying to convince Patton.</p><p> </p><p>“But you’re a knight! Couldn’t you protect us?”</p><p> </p><p>“…Yeah? ...yeah! I <em> am </em>a knight!” Thomas said, the last of his resistance gone. “Okay. Let’s do it.”</p><p> </p><p>Patton wiped the tears from his face. “Really? You mean it?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah!” Thomas agreed with a newfound confidence. “Just promise me that if it gets too dangerous and I say we’ve gotta go, then we have to go.”</p><p> </p><p>Patton nodded happily in agreement. Thomas grabbed his sword on the way out just in case, but hoped he wouldn’t need it. </p><p> </p><p>He was slightly relieved that they managed to find the tower easily enough. He’d never actually been there himself, and had to find his way there using only what he could remember Remy telling him about where it was. Luckily there was only one path that led past the clearing and towards the mountains, so it was straightforward enough. </p><p> </p><p>Patton stared at the looming tower before them. “Virgil’s in there?” he asked in a soft, worried voice.</p><p> </p><p>Thomas glanced at him. “You still wanna go in there? If you want, you can wait outside while I go in and check.”</p><p> </p><p>Just then, there was a flash of light through the lower windows of the tower, followed closely by a low, rumbling sound. Patton didn’t answer Thomas, and instead took off running towards the sound. </p><p> </p><p>“Hey, wait! Pat!” Thomas called out, running after him. Patton could be pretty fast when he wanted to be, but Thomas managed to get in front of him before he could get through the tower door. He held up a hand for Patton to wait, catching his breath slightly. “Let’s do this a bit more carefully, okay? Just stay behind me.”</p><p> </p><p>Patton bounced on his feet anxiously and nodded. Thomas took a deep breath and pushed the door open. The two of them crept in through the entry corridor and were met with a startling scene. </p><p> </p><p>The room had a thick layer of dark, swirling fog across the floor, pushed by the strong winds that were circling the room. Remy and Janus were standing with their backs against the tower wall, staring with wide eyes up at Virgil. Virgil, who was in the center of everything, surrounded in dark clouds with glowing, white pupil-less eyes, his body floating a few feet above the ground. </p><p> </p><p>Thomas backed away. This was obviously too dangerous of a situation for Patton to be in. “Alright Pat, we’ve gotta go- Patton!”</p><p> </p><p>Patton had already snuck past him and was staring up at his brother, eyes full of fear and worry. “Virgil?”</p><p> </p><p>Virgil’s head snapped towards the sound. The light in his eyes flickered out for a moment as he saw Patton looking up at him. “Pat, what are you doing here?!”</p><p> </p><p>“I was looking for you!” Patton shouted above the wind.</p><p> </p><p>“No… <b> <em>you can’t be here,</em></b>” Virgil said in a deep, distorted voice. He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head rapidly. The tension in his shoulders faded and his body went lax, still floating above the ground. His eyes remained closed. The black clouds around him shifted and moved forward until Virgil’s shadow was standing on the ground in front of Patton between him and Virgil. Patton frowned and finally took a step back towards Thomas. </p><p> </p><p>“What the heck is <em> that?! </em>” Thomas asked frantically, looking over to Remy and Janus for answers. Remy shook his head and shrugged, but Janus grimaced at both of them.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s… difficult to explain,” Janus said, gripping his hat as it threatened to fly off. “It spawned out of Virgil’s combined fear and magic.”</p><p> </p><p>Remy shook his head, not understanding. “So what, the kid summoned a <em> demon </em>?” </p><p> </p><p>“Not a demon, a guardian,” Janus explained. “It’s protecting him.” As if to emphasise the point, the shadow grew a little in size. </p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, okay, but from what?” Remy asked, keeping a close eye on the shadow.</p><p> </p><p>Janus offered a pained smile. “Given that his trust might be more than a little shaken after what we both just revealed to him, I’m assuming it’s from us.”</p><p> </p><p>Remy’s face dropped, and he clutched the arm that had been electrocuted. The shadow started moving towards them, pushing all of them further towards the door. A bolt of lightning struck nearby, missing entirely but still close enough to make them all jump.</p><p> </p><p>“We should go,” Remy finally said in a hoarse whisper.</p><p> </p><p>“I think that would be wise,” Janus agreed, his voice shaking.</p><p> </p><p>Thomas pulled Patton gently to follow them, but Patton resisted. “Look,” Patton whispered, not looking at the shadow but at Virgil. Virgil’s eyes were still closed, but his cheek were now stained with tears. “We… I can’t leave him!”</p><p> </p><p>Janus looked at him, perplexed. “You have to,” Janus explained to him softly. “Virgil is afraid of hurting you most of all.”</p><p> </p><p>Patton stared back at Janus with a determined look. “But he won’t,” he replied, and stepped towards the shadow. </p><p> </p><p>“Uh, he might!” Remy said in a strained voice. “I hate to tell you, but he kind of already hurt me, sooo…”</p><p> </p><p>“He won’t hurt me,” Patton repeated, firm and desperate. He continued walking forward until he was standing face to face with Virgil’s shadow. </p><p> </p><p>“<b><em>Get out,</em></b>” the shadow hissed at him.</p><p> </p><p>“Please, I just wanna talk to him,” Patton pleaded.</p><p> </p><p>“<b><em>I- He- You’re gonna get hurt, you have to leave,</em></b>” the shadow repeated, though it also sounded like it was pleading. </p><p> </p><p>“I won’t! I just wanna know why he’s avoiding me! Is it- is it my fault?” Patton asked, tears welling up in his eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“<b><em>No!</em> </b> ” The shadow said adamantly. “<b><em>None of this is your fault!</em> </b>” </p><p> </p><p>“Then <em> why?! </em>” Patton cried. The shadow didn’t answer, eyes darting around as if looking for an escape. “Please! He’s my brother.”</p><p> </p><p>The shadow’s face softened. It looked away from Patton for a moment. Patton took that opportunity and darted past the shadow towards Virgil’s hovering form. The shadow noticed too late and watched with wide eyes as Patton reached out his hands towards Virgil.</p><p> </p><p>“<b> <em>Don’t!</em> </b>” it shouted, terrified as Patton made contact with the bottom of Virgil’s hoodie, unable to reach any higher, and grasped onto it tightly. </p><p> </p><p>But there was no shock, no lightning, no thunder. Virgil’s eyes fluttered open. He immediately locked eyes with Patton. “What are you doing, Pat?” Virgil asked, his voice gravelly and rough. </p><p> </p><p>“It’s okay!” Patton reassured him, giving him a watery smile. “See? I’m here and you’re here and nothing bad is happening! It’s okay.”</p><p> </p><p>“But I can’t- I-” Virgil choked on his words. Patton waited patiently for him to finish. “I can’t <em> lose you.</em>” More tears rolled down his face. “I… my parents are both gone, bud. And I keep thinking any day Dad’s gonna come home, and Papa will be gone too. I’m so scared, Pat.”</p><p> </p><p>“He’ll be okay too!” </p><p> </p><p>“You don’t know that!” Virgil snapped at him. He immediately regretted it, looking away in shame. “This is why I never talk to you about this kind of stuff. I don’t want to freak you out, but what if… what if he never wakes up?”</p><p> </p><p>Patton, still unable to reach very well, does his best attempt at giving Virgil a hug. “Well, I’m not going anywhere. Dad isn’t, either. Everyone here… they came here for you! Because we care about you!” He felt Virgil place his feet back on the ground finally and wrap his arms tightly around Patton. The two brothers sank to the floor, still holding each other. “So you don’t have to do this alone, okay?”</p><p> </p><p>Virgil inhaled a shaky breath. “Okay.”</p><p> </p><p>The shadow watched the two of them from the side. “<b><em>Huh.</em></b>” A contented smile slipped onto its face, and soon it had dissipated with the rest of the storm. Furniture and other assorted objects were scattered around the room, but the atmosphere was finally calm. </p><p> </p><p>“I think I wanna go home now,” Virgil told Patton, though loud enough that everyone else in the room could hear too. </p><p> </p><p>Thomas walked over and crouched next to them. “You guys okay? You need someone to walk you home?”</p><p> </p><p>Virgil shook his head. “I think Patton and I are just gonna go by ourselves. What do you think, Pat?”</p><p> </p><p>Patton smiled up at him and nodded. The two brothers stood up and walked out of the tower, Virgil too exhausted to give more of a goodbye to anyone than a wave on his way out. Patton clinged to him as they walked, tightly holding onto his hand.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Chapter 16</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Patton didn’t let go of Virgil’s hand the whole journey home. Virgil didn’t seem to mind. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You should tell Dad,” Patton suggested quietly once they were back in Virgil’s room. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil caught a peek of the two of them in the mirror attached to his wardrobe door. The two of them looked like a mess, hair disheveled and eyes still red from crying. “Yeah, we’re not gonna be able to just shrug this one off, huh?” He breathed out deeply, bracing himself. Just before he opened the door, he glanced back at Patton. “Hey, uh… sorry about, well, everything. And thanks for not giving up on me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton beamed at him. “You’re welcome!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil returned the smile, then the two of them walked out into the living room. Roman heard them enter and stood up from where he was sitting on the couch to greet them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There you two are, I was starting to get worried and I-” Roman stopped as he noticed their appearance. He rushed over to get a closer look at them. “Oh my stars, are you alright?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil and Patton exchanged glances. “We had kind of a rough day,” Virgil admitted.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman hummed sympathetically and pulled the two of them into a family hug. “You’re not hurt, are you?” He bent down to check them over and make sure.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, we’re okay!” Patton reassured him. He looked over at Virgil and inclined his head towards Roman, encouraging him to say something.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil cleared his throat nervously. “Actually, Dad, there’s something I need to talk to you about.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh… alright,” Roman said, looking worried. “You want to have a serious talk time?” Virgil nodded. “Pat, could you give us some time alone, please?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton nodded, giving Virgil once last reassuring glance before disappearing into his room. Roman gently put a hand on Virgil’s shoulder and led him to the couch. They sat down side by side, and Roman waited for Virgil to speak. It took him a minute to get all his thoughts together and work up the courage to start, but once he did all of the events of the past week came pouring out. Roman listened patiently the whole time, and seemed heartbroken (but not angry, as Virgil was afraid he might be) that Virgil had faced all of this without telling him until now. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What a brave prince you’ve been,” Roman said proudly, one arm wrapped around Virgil and his other hand resting on Virgil’s arm. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil snorted. “Didn’t feel very brave. Felt like a lot of running away and messing things up. Pat’s the real hero.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman smiled at him. “While I’m very grateful that Patton was there with you, there’s no need to sell yourself short. You faced all of those things and pulled through to the other side. Not to mention that asking for help is one of the bravest things you can do.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil still wasn’t sure how brave he’d been, but he leaned into Roman slightly. “Thanks, Dad.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Speaking of which, you know I’m here for you whenever you need anything, right?” Roman asked, and Virgil nodded. “That being said… it sounds like you’re dealing with a lot of anxiety, and I will help you as much as I can, but it also might be a good idea if you see a therapist.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil looked at him skeptically. Talking to his dad was one thing, but telling a complete stranger? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman noticed his hesitation. “Of course, it might be easier if you leave out the part where you were cursed by a Dragon Witch, but they would be able to help you with the anxiety part. And there’s nothing wrong about seeing a therapist. You like Elliott, right? They see a therapist. Maybe I could ask them about it the next time they come over to babysit.” Seeing Virgil still wasn’t sure, he continued. “You don’t have to decide right now, but just think about it, alright?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil nodded slowly. “Yeah… I’ll think about it, promise.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman kissed him on the top of his head. “That’s my boy. Now how about a movie night? Your pick.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil thought about it for a second, then looked at Roman with a smirk. “Black Cauldron?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You always have to pick the ones without songs, don’t you?” Roman huffed, though his tone was light. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If I pick one of the ones with songs, you’ll be singing them all week,” Virgil shot back, grinning.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman placed an offended hand on his chest, but he was smiling too. “And just what is wrong with my singing?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil rolled his eyes. “Nothing, except when it's nonstop.” Roman ruffled his hair in retaliation and Virgil laughed properly for the first time in a week. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton fell asleep only half an hour into the movie, and Virgil barely managed to keep his eyes open and could swear by the end that he’d dosed off somewhere in the middle. He didn’t mind, though. Just having his family sitting either side of him was enough. As the credits rolled, Virgil remembered something he’d forgotten to tell his dad. He nudged Roman, who looked over at him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, uh… so Uncle Remus was staying in the tower with Janus,” Virgil told him, stifling a yawn.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh. Oh?” Roman said, caught off guard. “How is he?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I think he misses you,” Virgil told him, before forcing himself to get up off the couch before he fell asleep there. “You should go visit him. If you want.” With that, he wandered into the kitchen to get himself a drink before bed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman sat on the couch for a while after Virgil had gone to bed, thinking everything over. Perhaps it was time for him to finally pay Remus a visit. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Chapter 17 (Interlude II)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Roman took a deep breath and knocked on the dark tower’s door. After his little talk with Virgil a few days prior, he thought he might as well try and follow through on attempting to talk to Remus. The door was opened, though the person behind it wasn’t who Roman was expecting. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Remy? What are you doing here?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remy blinked at him, obviously equally as startled. “Oh, y’know. Just… hanging out.” He pushed past Roman. “And now I’m leaving. See you later, Jan!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman looked to see Janus give Remy a wave, before he turned his attention to Roman. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And to what do I owe the pleasure of ex-Prince Roman paying us a visit?” Janus asked, voice smooth as silk.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman decided to ignore the ‘ex-prince’ jab. “I was hoping to talk to Remus, is he here?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He might be,” Janus said, examining his gloved hands. “That depends what you’re planning to talk about. From what I heard, your last little ‘discussion’ with him ended </span>
  <em>
    <span>very</span>
  </em>
  <span> well.</span>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That was-!” Roman almost jumped to defend himself, but he shook his head and reminded himself to stay on task. “Just let me through to see my brother, Janus. I don’t see why it’s any of your business.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Janus gave him a hard stare. “Oh, I think it is my business, considering this is my tower and Remus is my guest. Try again.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fine!” Roman let out a frustrated groan. “I came to make amends, alright? Is that a good enough reason for you?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Amends, hmm?” Janus hummed, his expression softening slightly as he finally stepped aside. “There seems to be a few of those going around today,” he muttered to himself, then gestured for Roman to enter. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman stepped through the door and into the tower. He glanced around at the dark interior. “Nice place,” he commented as a weak attempt at small talk. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>so </span>
  </em>
  <span>glad it meets your expectations,” Janus said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “As much I would love to join you and Remus in such riveting conversations, I have other things to take care of.” He turned away from Roman and gestured vaguely towards the stairs. “Remus’s room is up there.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman swallowed the lump in his throat. “Right.” As he left Janus to his own devices and ascended up the stairs, he found himself struggling to find the right words to say to Remus for the second time in a short while. When had it become so hard for him to talk to his own brother? He was met at the top by a heavy wooden door, and tried to ignore whatever strange black liquid had apparently seeped out from under it and stained the stone floor. He knocked twice and waited. The door swung open with such a force that Roman took a step back. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remus clearly hadn’t been expecting to see Roman on the other side of the door, freezing up the moment they locked eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman stepped back towards him and gave him a half smile. “Hello, Remus. How are… you?” He gave Remus a light punch on the arm. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remus’ moustache twitched. “What was </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, you know, just a brotherly… punch on the arm?” Roman offered up, though he was equally as confused as to why he’d felt the need to do that. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remus looked unimpressed and responded by punching Roman on the arm with a loud </span>
  <em>
    <span>thwack!</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ow!” Roman yelped, giving Remus an incredulous look. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Now </span>
  <em>
    <span>that’s </span>
  </em>
  <span>what I’d call a punch,” Remus said with a smug grin. He then turned around and walked proudly back into his room, leaving the door open behind him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman rubbed his arm where Remus had hit him and tried not to think about how he probably deserved worse than that. “Note to self, no arm punches next time,” he mumbled under his breath and followed his brother through the door. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Really? I think we should keep them! The punching part at least, maybe next time we could do a punch in the face!” His face lit up with an idea. “Oooh, or a punch in the d-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, no punching!” Roman interrupted before things could get any further out of hand. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re the one who started the whole punching thing!” Remus argued. He put his hands on his hips and grinned proudly. “I just made it better!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No you didn’t! You just made it worse, as usual!” Roman knew soon as he’d said it he’d made a mistake, and watched Remus’ smile slip. Roman dropped his hand from his sore arm. “Remus, I didn’t mean that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes you did,” Remus said, and Roman could swear he almost sounded sad. “What are you doing here, anyway?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman took a deep breath. Time to do what he’d come there for. “So, I’ve been thinking-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oooh, that’s new for you!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman glared at him, but pushed on anyway, “-and Virgil might’ve mentioned a conversation you two had, about how I should talk to you and how you’ve been missing me, so I just wanted to say I’m sorry about- Remus, I’m trying to be serious here, stop laughing!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remus tried to suppress his giggles. “No no, keep going! I’m listening, I promise!” He waited for Roman to continue, and when all he got back was an unimpressed stare he rolled his eyes. “Okay, I get it! You’re sad because I had my big ol’ pity party without you, and now you’re offended because you weren’t invited and no one throws a pity party like Roman Duke.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman let out an offended noise and placed a hand on his chest. “It’s Roman </span>
  <em>
    <span>Sanders </span>
  </em>
  <span>now, actually! And no I don’t!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Eh, whatever! You’re throwing yourself one right now, look!” Remus gestured to Roman’s general demeanour. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I- You- stop interrupting me! I’m trying to say that I didn’t mean to forget all about you, but I still did even after I promised I wouldn’t and the least I could have done was come back and visit you sooner once I actually remembered you! You didn’t deserve that, and I’m sorry.” Roman exhaled, now that he’d finally got the words out, and waited for Remus to respond. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remus watched him for a moment to make sure Roman was finished, then wandered over to his four-poster bed and flopped down onto his back. Roman frowned, not exactly sure what that meant, until Remus patted the bed beside him as a gesture for Roman to sit. Roman hesitated for a moment, before doing just that. It felt weird having Remus lying down and him sitting up, so he soon found him and Remus lying side by side, staring up at the black fabric canopy above them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Remember that time I said I hated you?” Remus said eventually, eyes still fixed upwards. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman winced. As if that was something he could ever forget, rather than thinking about it constantly from the moment it was said. “After I banished you, right?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remus nodded. “When we were kids, you used to think that if you wished really hard for something it would happen. I was so mad at you that I wished really hard that I would hate you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman glanced at his brother nervously. “And?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Didn’t work.” Remus turned over to lay on his side and finally looked at Roman, head resting on his hand. “So we’ve got a lot of catching up to do! You’ve got a new last name apparently and at least two tiny offsprings, so you’ve obviously been </span>
  <em>
    <span>busy</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” he said with a wink. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman let out a grossed-out noise. “Okay first of all I’m gay, second of all I’m ace, and third of all you’re my brother and we are </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>discussing that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remus just rolled his eyes. “So then what </span>
  <em>
    <span>have </span>
  </em>
  <span>you been up to?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So they laid on Remus’ bed for an hour while Roman told him all about his life - how he went to college, how he met Logan there, how they got married and adopted Patton and Virgil, and how they all had a perfect little life together where Logan worked as a teacher and Roman fulfilled his dream of being in theatre. That is, up until the point where Logan suddenly went into a coma.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“When he wakes up, we’ll have to have a family reunion!” Roman said, sighing happily at the thought of his whole family being reunited. He gave Remus a suspicious glance. “You’d better be nice to him.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remus gave him a mischievous grin. “No promises! Speaking of family, how are Mom and Pops these days?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman sombered at the mention of their parents. “Oh. No idea, honestly.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remus glanced over at him. “Really? I thought they’d be so proud of their favourite child Roman giving them grandkids.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, well,” he grimaced, “that whole ‘favourite child’ thing disappeared pretty quickly when their supposed </span>
  <em>
    <span>only </span>
  </em>
  <span>child turned out gay.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Holy shit,” Remus said. “We’re both the family disappointment.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yep,” Roman agreed. “I don’t think them remembering you existed would have made much of a difference, if I’m honest. But all things considered, I think we turned out okay.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remus hummed. “Maybe </span>
  <em>
    <span>one </span>
  </em>
  <span>of us did.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There’s no need to be so hard on yourself, I was including you in that!” Roman argued.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remus grinned at him. “Oh, when I said one of us, I meant me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman took the opportunity to give Remus a decent punch in the arm. Remus started cackling, clearly unbothered. He wasn’t sure why, but a fond smile crept onto Roman’s lips as well.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ll come by and visit more often this time. I mean it this time,” Roman promised. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’d better, or else I’ll stop pulling my punches!” Remus said, though his tone was playful.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman dread to think what a full-force punch from Remus might feel like. He’d just have to keep his promise to make sure he never found out.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. Chapter 18</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Virgil, in general, was doing much better. He’d gone to his first therapy session a few days ago, and while it had been very introductory it still made him feel a little more secure knowing that he didn’t have to deal with all of this by himself anymore.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Despite all of that, he was having one of those nights where his brain just would not shut up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He could only take so much tossing and turning and staring up at the ceiling before he groaned quietly and rolled out of bed. Remy and Thomas’ house wasn’t too far from the clearing, so Virgil figured he might as well hang around there for a while until his brain tired itself out, and if it came down to it he could just sleep on their downstairs couch instead of walking all the way back up to the castle portal. Luckily the storybook was still in his room from when he’d read Patton to sleep, so he took it from his bedside table and turned the key. A familiar light filled the room, and soon he was in the clearing in Reverie.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was about to make his way to Remy’s house when he noticed a familiar silhouette disappearing into the forest in the opposite direction. Virgil couldn’t see his face clearly in the dark, but there was no mistaking Remy’s long, flowing coat. His curiosity piqued, Virgil quietly followed along behind Remy at a distance to find out where he was going. The only thing that Virgil could think of that was off in this direction was the tower, and he couldn’t think of why Remy would go there since he’d gotten the impression that Remy and Janus didn’t get along.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But sure enough, Virgil followed Remy all the way through the woods and watched him enter the tower. </span>
</p><p> </p><p><span>“</span><em><span>Something’s up,</span></em><span>”</span> <span>Virgil heard his shadow say. </span></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil bit his lip. He couldn’t help but wonder if that was true, even if it was probably nothing. It wouldn’t hurt to check, right? He had come to see Remy to begin with, after all. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He slipped in through the tower door and could immediately hear Remy and Janus talking in the other room. He decided just to wait and listen for a minute.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“C’mon Jan, there has to be some way out!” Virgil heard Remy say.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Janus sighed. “There doesn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>have </span>
  </em>
  <span>to be just because you </span>
  <em>
    <span>want </span>
  </em>
  <span>there to be. If there was, don’t you think I would have found it by now? Honestly Remy, just tell them. You’re making this much harder than it needs to be.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, sure,” Remy agreed sarcastically. “Because that’ll go so well for me. Hey kids, y’know how your dad’s supposedly in a coma? Well guess what, it’s all my fault! Just because I so happened to be there when he came through and got a little mad at him and lost control of my powers when I shoved him back through the portal.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil could feel his heart pounding in his chest. He couldn’t believe it. Remy was the reason Papa was in a coma? He could feel his shadow starting to pour out of him, but he didn’t move just yet.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I mean, seriously,” Remy continued, “I didn’t even know the spell had held this whole time until Thomas mentioned it. But hey, if I can somehow get out of this place and into their world I just might be able to fix it and they won’t have to know anything!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mmm, how selfless of you,” Janus said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “Unfortunately, you might not have a choice.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil stepped forward into the room with his shadow standing beside him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <b>
    <em>Yeah, you’re right about that,</em>
  </b>
  <span>” Virgil’s shadow said in his distorted voice. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remy and Janus both turned around, their eyes widening. Remy started to back away.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hhhhey V,” Remy tried to greet him casually, but his voice shook. “How long’ve you been there?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Long enough,” Virgil replied, clenching his fists and glaring at Remy. “I can’t believe I trusted you when you’ve been lying to me this whole time!” Electricity started to crackle around Virgil’s hands, and his shadow moved over him so that it was circling around him like an aura. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remy noticed and put up his hands defensively. “Okay, let’s just calm down for a second-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p><span>“</span><em><span>Calm</span></em> <b><em>down</em></b><b>?!</b><span>” Virgil’s voice overlapped with his shadow’s, echoing throughout the room. He moved towards Remy. </span></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“C’mon Virge, you really don’t wanna do this,” Remy said, but instead of moving further backwards he moved towards Virgil.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Janus threw him a warning glance. “Remy, don’t.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil wasn’t exactly sure what he meant, but he didn’t care at this point. He threw himself at Remy with a crack of thunder. Remy yelped and jumped out of the way. Virgil could swear, later, that he’d only taken his eyes off of Remy for a second, but it was enough. In an instant, there was a hand on the back of his neck and a wave of drowsiness took over him. His powers faded almost immediately as he slumped forwards. He only had a few seconds to register that it was Remy that had caught him before he lost consciousness and drifted into a magic-induced sleep.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As Remy held Virgil’s sleeping form, the gravity of what he’d just done started to weigh on him. Now he had </span>
  <em>
    <span>two </span>
  </em>
  <span>problems, both of them currently sleeping.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Janus, who’d done his best to stay entirely out of the way, sighed. “Well that was handled smoothly.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He was attacking me!” Remy tried to argue, but even to his own ears it was a weak defense. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, I saw that.” Janus gave him an unimpressed look. “Alright, wake him up so we can finally put an end to this.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I…” Remy did want Virgil to wake up. Of course he did. But did he want to wake him up… now? “You know, as soon as he wakes up he’ll run off to Roman and tell him what I did. You know that, right?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Remy,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Janus said, in an exasperated tone, not unlike that of a parent’s. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He’ll kill me when he finds out!” Remy shook his head and laid Virgil gently on the floor. “I just need more time, Jan. That’s all. If you don’t wanna help anymore, that’s fine! I’ll figure out something myself!” He stood up, fully intending to leave, but Janus blocked his path. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If you leave without waking Virgil up,” Janus warned, “then </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’ll </span>
  </em>
  <span>tell Roman what you did myself. This has gone too far.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remy knew Janus well enough that he would follow through on that. But if he’d already gone too far, why stop now? So he pushed Janus aside and ran from the tower, leaving Janus and a sleeping Virgil behind.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A few moments later, Remus came down the stairs and stumbled upon the aftermath. Janus was pacing back and forth. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Janus, why is my nephew passed out on our floor?” Remus asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Janus stopped pacing. “Ah, Remus. Would you mind taking care of him while I’m gone? There’s someone I need to have a little discussion with.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remus still looked confused, but he sat himself down beside Virgil on the floor as Janus exited the tower and disappeared into the night. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0019"><h2>19. Chapter 19</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Have you seen Virgil this morning?” Roman asked Patton as the two of them got ready for the day the next morning. “He wasn’t in his room.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton shook his head. “Not since last night. Maybe he went into the book?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Maybe,” Roman echoed as he tapped his foot anxiously. Virgil wasn’t exactly a morning person, and he’d been in bed when Roman had checked on him the night before after he came home from work. “How about we start breakfast without him, and if he’s not here when we’re finished you and I will go and check on him?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton agreed, and they both took a seat at the breakfast table and started eating. Roman was distracted the whole time. He’d felt like Virgil had been improving, but maybe he’d been wrong? Was there something else Virgil wasn’t telling him? When Virgil still wasn’t there ten minutes later after they’d both finished their breakfast, Roman quickly told Patton to go and get dressed. If Virgil needed him, Roman was going to make sure he was there this time.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Where did Virgil put the story book last night, Patton?” Roman asked when they were both ready, not seeing it anywhere in Patton’s room.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He took it to his room!” Patton explained. “That’s why I think he’s probably there!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman went into Virgil’s room to check, with Patton trailing behind him and, sure enough, the book was lying on Virgil’s bed with the key slotted into the lock. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman gave Patton a kiss on the top of his head. “Nice work, Pat. Your Papa would be proud of your detective skills.” Patton beamed proudly at the compliment as Roman picked up the book and took hold of Patton’s hand. “Let’s go find your brother.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once they’d landed safely in the clearing, Roman headed immediately towards Thomas’ house. If Virgil was likely to be anywhere it was there, besides which Roman planned on asking for Thomas’ help if he wasn’t. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Virgil’s gonna be okay, Dad,” Patton reassured him as Roman knocked on the door. “We’ll find him!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman gave Patton’s hand a squeeze. “I’m sure we will.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After a few moments, there was the sound of footsteps and Thomas opened the door. His face lit up when he saw it was Roman at the door. “Oh, hey Roman!” He looked down to see Patton was there as well. “And Patton’s here too! What’s up? Do you need me to watch him watch him for a while?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah, no actually. I was wondering if you’d seen Virgil this morning.” Roman peeked around Thomas to see if he was anywhere in the house. “I don’t suppose he’s here, is he?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thomas frowned and shook his head. “No, I haven’t seen him.” He thought for a second. “Although I haven’t seen Remy this morning either. They’re probably hanging out together somewhere.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “That’s a relief, I suppose.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman turned to see Janus leaning against the side of the house. “How long have you been standing there?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Janus examined his gloves. “A while. Clearly you’re all </span>
  <em>
    <span>very </span>
  </em>
  <span>observant.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And what do you mean by, ‘I wouldn’t be so sure’? Do </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> know where Virgil is?” Roman demanded. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I do,” Janus confirmed. “Remus is taking care of him in my tower. Remy, on the other hand… he’s long gone.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Gone?” Thomas frowned. “Gone where?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m not sure exactly,” Janus admitted, “but we’d best find him before it’s too late.” When he was met with confused stares, he sighed. “Perhaps this would be easier to explain if I just show you what I mean.” He turned around without another word and beckoned for them to follow him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Reluctantly, the rest of them followed him. Roman was slightly worried by Janus’ vague answers, but at least he knew where Virgil was now. What had Janus meant by Remus ‘taking care of him’? He was so distracted with his own thoughts that he almost didn’t notice the permanent frown that had affixed itself to Thomas’ face the whole time they’d been walking. Roman drifted over to him so that they were walking side by side.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thomas? Are you alright?” Roman asked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thomas didn’t answer right away, his eyes shifting back and forth as though he were internally trying to piece something together. “Remy’s been acting weird lately,” he answered softly. “This isn’t the first time he’s gone off somewhere and not told me where or why. I’ve tried asking him about it, but he kept dodging my questions. And now Janus says he’s ‘gone’, and- I don’t know, I’m just worried, I guess.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sounds like typical Remy to me,” Roman said, though he was also curious about what Janus had meant. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thomas hummed doubtfully. “That’s what I thought at first, but…” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He trailed off and went back into his own thoughts. All of them were quiet the rest of the way as they approached the tower. Janus opened the door for them and they all filed inside. Any relief Roman had felt quickly vanished when he saw Virgil unconscious on the floor, with Remus sitting next him. He gasped and rushed over to him, kneeling beside Virgil. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What’s wrong with him?!” Roman demanded to know, placing a hand on Virgil’s head to check his temperature. Nothing out of the ordinary. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Relax, he’s just sleeping!” Remus piped up. “Though he’s a pretty heavy sleeper. Hasn’t moved since last night!” He looked next to Roman and saw that Patton was with him, his face lighting up. “Hi, other nephew!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He waved at Patton who, momentarily distracted from his unconscious brother, hesitantly waved back. Patton’s eyes shifted between Remus, Roman and Virgil, before deciding that he wanted to be with his family, wandering over and plopping himself down next to Remus. Remus seemed pleased. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman shook Virgil, trying to wake him up. “Virge, sweetheart. Please wake up.” Virgil didn’t stir at all, and Roman’s mind was sent back to when he’d found Logan on the floor, similarly unconscious. He couldn’t do this again, he </span>
  <em>
    <span>couldn’t-</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s not going to work,” Janus said, in an unusually gentle tone. “It’s not a natural sleep.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman looked up at that. His eyes darted over to Thomas, whose face had gone pale.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Does this have something to do with Remy being gone?” Thomas asked, though everyone in the room already knew the answer.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Janus nodded solemnly. “Unfortunately. I did try to talk him out of it, but it seems he’s beyond reason at this point.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thomas shook his head in disbelief. “I can’t believe he would do something like this.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I certainly can,” Janus said, then looking directly at Roman he continued. “It wouldn’t be the first time he’s done this.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What do you mean?” Roman asked, suspicious. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Come now, Roman. I’m sure </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>of all people can piece this together.” Janus glanced down at Virgil, then back to Roman. “Doesn’t this situation seem familiar to you at all?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman looked back down at Virgil, his peacefully sleeping form. He recalled his thoughts from just a few moments earlier, how eerily similar it was. “...Logan?” He asked Janus for confirmation, his voice already shaking as deep down he already knew the answer. Janus nodded. With that, any hopes Roman had of maintaining his composure quickly vanished. He balled up his fists, slamming one of them into the ground in frustration before leaping to his feet. “Ugh, I can’t believe I was so- so </span>
  <em>
    <span>stupid!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” He yelled, hot tears filling his eyes and threatening to spill out. “This whole time… and he had the </span>
  <em>
    <span>nerve </span>
  </em>
  <span>to just- just-!” He whipped around and pointed at Thomas. “Did you know?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, I didn’t know!” Thomas looked and sounded heartbroken. “Do you really think I would do that to you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman threw up his arms. “I don’t know! Apparently </span>
  <em>
    <span>he </span>
  </em>
  <span>knew!” He gestured towards Janus, who held up his hands defensively. “But somehow I was so slow in figuring it out that I let this happen to my family twice!” He shook his head. “Well, it’s not happening again. I am going to find Remy, I am going to drag him back here and he is going to fix everything and then… I don’t know what I’ll do then, but I’m going to do </span>
  <em>
    <span>something!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If you want to kill him afterwards, I’ll help!” Remus chimed in, and though he sounded cheerful enough there was a threatening undertone in his voice. Apparently he had grown attached enough to his nephew that he wasn’t pleased that someone had messed with him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman grimaced, almost entertaining the thought for a moment. “As tempting as that is, someone has to keep an eye on Virgil while I’m gone.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remus blinked. “And you’re trusting me to do that?” He placed a hand on his chest, almost sounding touched. “Me? Remus?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You seem to have done a fine enough job so far, so sure! I don’t see why not.” He patted Remus on the back distractedly, before immediately heading out to find Remy.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Roman, shouldn’t we- he’s gone. Okay.” Thomas exhaled a shaky breath. He wandered over to where Patton was sitting and knelt down beside him. “I’m gonna go after your dad, are you good staying here?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton bit his lip and looked over at Virgil. “Ummm…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thomas gave him a reassuring smile. “If you wanna stay here with Virgil, that’s okay. I just need to make sure that your dad doesn’t do anything… reckless. Remy too, I guess.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton looked back at him with wide eyes. “Do you think that’ll happen?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Honestly, I’m not sure what’s gonna happen,” Thomas admitted. Patton made a conflicted noise, looking back and forth between Thomas and his brother. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know, your bro’s not gonna wake up from his magic nap any time soon,” Remus offered up, “if you wanted to go. You could stick around and sit on the floor with your uncle Remus, ooor you could follow your daddy and make sure he doesn’t have too much fun kicking Remy’s butt without you!” He shrugged. “Your choice! I know what I’d choose, though!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton gave one last glance back at Virgil, before standing up with a serious expression on his face. “I’m coming too.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thomas got back to his feet too, secretly relieved. If Patton was there with them, then maybe he stood a chance of stopping his best friend and his boyfriend from killing each other.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0020"><h2>20. Chapter 20</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Roman, wait up!” Thomas called out as they left the tower. Roman didn’t turn around, still charging ahead. Thomas let out a frustrated sigh and jogged to catch up to him. “Just slow down, okay?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman balked. “Slow </span>
  <em>
    <span>down</span>
  </em>
  <span>? I’m not going to slow down until I find Remy and-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, but we don’t even know where he is! How exactly are you planning on finding him?” Thomas asked </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m going to look for him!” Roman said impatiently. “Or I was about to, until you interrupted me!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But </span>
  <em>
    <span>where</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” Thomas said, exasperated. “You can’t just search the whole kingdom by yourself.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He has a point, you know,” said Janus, who neither of them had noticed until now.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thomas jumped slightly. “How do you keep sneaking up on us like that?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t see why I couldn’t!” Roman said, crossing his arms stubbornly. “He can’t hide forever.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Janus rolled his eyes. “Yes, what a </span>
  <em>
    <span>flawless </span>
  </em>
  <span>plan. Apparently you and Remus both share a penchant for not thinking things through. </span>
  <em>
    <span>You</span>
  </em>
  <span> may have forever to run around looking for Remy, but Virgil doesn’t have that sort of time.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, do you have a better idea?!” Roman snapped. “Not that I exactly trust you. Why was Virgil asleep in </span>
  <em>
    <span>your </span>
  </em>
  <span>tower to begin with?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m not asking you to trust me, I’m only asking you to </span>
  <em>
    <span>think,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Janus hissed. He huffed and straightened out his cape. “Though it’s true, I was helping Remy with this little situation of his. But since that’s the case, don’t you think I know him enough that I might be able to help you find him?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, but I know Remy pretty well too,” Thomas interjected.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Clearly not enough, since you seem to have been clueless about all of this,” Janus shot back. He softened a bit when Thomas visibly recoiled. “Not that you could have known when Remy caused you to sleep through everything.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thomas still seemed slightly defensive. “Well, where is he then?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Janus sighed. “Remy, at the very least, </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>trying to fix all of this,” he explained. “He was convinced that if he could find a way to finally leave this world through some sort of loophole that he would be able to awaken Logan without ever having to confess to placing him under the sleep in the first place.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Of course,” he mused, “none of that matters now since you all seem to have figured him out anyway. If only someone had warned him that would happen in the first place. Oh wait! I did. This is </span>
  <em>
    <span>exactly </span>
  </em>
  <span>why I told him to just admit it and get it over with. That’s what we were discussing when Virgil overheard us and well… here we are.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But why would he come to </span>
  <em>
    <span>you?</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Thomas asked, frowning in confusion. “I thought you two hated each other.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Janus hummed. “That might be true now, but it wasn’t always. We did enter through into Reverie together, after all.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You mean you and Remy both came from our world?” Patton, who had been quietly listening the whole time, piped up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Janus looked down at him, lips twitching in a smile. “Yes, that’s right. Who do you think it was that discovered the three-day rule?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton stared at him with wide eyes. “So you didn’t know and got stuck here?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Unfortunately, yes,” Janus said, sighing. “Which is why we began looking into the entire loophole thing in the first place, a very long time ago. We didn’t find anything then, and honestly I’d barely thought about it until Remy showed up in the middle of the night a few weeks ago, insisting that one </span>
  <em>
    <span>had </span>
  </em>
  <span>to exist. As if he wanted it badly enough to exist, one would just magically appear.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thomas ran a hand through his hair. “Even if that’s true… I still don’t get why he didn’t just tell </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span>? I don’t know what I could have done, but,” he shook his head, “I could’ve helped!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Janus smiled sympathetically at him. “As good-natured as your intentions may have been, tell me: what would you have done once he told you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know, I…” Thomas shrugged helplessly. “I guess I would have had to have told Roman.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Janus nodded. “Exactly. There would have been an immediate conflict of interest. On the other hand, what’s a little more distrust between two ex-friends? ”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No offense, but I don’t see how any of this matters!” Roman interrupted. “I don’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>care </span>
  </em>
  <span>why he did it! I just want to know where he is!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Janus glared at him. “I was just getting to that. I don’t think Remy is ‘hiding’, as you put it earlier. Since I… politely declined to help him any further, he probably went straight to the castle archives,” he explained. “It’s been a long time since Remy was allowed in there, and even though they already searched that place top to bottom when we were younger, he’s probably desperate enough to try again.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0021"><h2>21. Chapter 21</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Roman was uncharacteristically quiet as they walked through the castle halls towards the archives. Patton had tried to get his attention a few times during the journey from the tower to the city, but Roman had just looked down at him with a weak smile each time and continued walking, his expression turning stoic the moment he was no longer looking at his son. He didn’t say a word as he pushed the door open into the archives, revealing rows and rows of books that held all the knowledge in Reverie. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton looked back and forth across the maze-like room. “This place is really big, how are we gonna find Remy?” He looked up at Roman. Roman didn’t answer, instead picking a direction and charging off. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thomas groaned. “Why does he keep </span>
  <em>
    <span>doing </span>
  </em>
  <span>that?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You should follow him,” Janus suggested. “I don’t think either of us want him doing anything drastic. Perhaps I’ll take Patton off in this direction… just in case.” He tilted his head in the opposite direction from where Roman had gone. “If we find Remy first, I’ll do my best to talk him down. If Roman finds him first… try not to let things get out of hand.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thomas looked at him questioningly, and Janus gave him an affirming nod. Apparently they both were having the same fears about what would happen when Roman and Remy finally met. “Okay. That sound good to you, Pat?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton was looking off in the direction his dad had gone in with a worried expression. “Is he gonna be okay?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Janus smiled down at him. “Of course,” he lied smoothly. “It would be helpful to him if we split off to cover more ground, don’t you think?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton still looked unsure, but slowly nodded. “I.. I guess so.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Janus began leading Patton away, but gave one last look towards Thomas. “I’m not interested in getting on Roman’s bad side today, so I promise I will take good care of Patton and keep him out of harm’s way if we run into Remy.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thomas nodded gratefully, and then headed off in the direction Roman had disappeared in. He checked down each aisle of the archives as he went, snaking his way through the different sections. He almost walked straight past one of the aisles, but did a double take when he saw someone sitting on the floor, surrounded by books. Not Roman, but Remy. He had a book balanced on his lap, flicking through the pages and muttering to himself. His sunglasses were pushed up onto his head and he looked frustrated. Thomas’ heart leapt in his chest as he walked slowly towards him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Remy?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remy startled and looked up. A look of relief crossed his face when he realised it was just Thomas. “Oh, hey babe! I was just looking for something, so-” He stopped as his eyes shifted just left of Thomas, his eyes filling with fear. The book he was holding slipped out of his hand and thudded on the floor as he scrambled to his feet. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thomas turned around to see what Remy was looking at, only to find Roman standing behind them, sword drawn and looking furious. He started walking towards Remy, but Thomas stood in front of him and held him back. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, let’s not… do any of that just yet,” he said nervously, looking back and forth between Remy and Roman. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Move aside, Thomas,” Roman growled, glaring daggers at Remy. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Would prefer if you didn’t, babe,” Remy said, his voice shaking. “Okay, I get you’re upset, but lemme explain-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t want to hear any of your excuses!” Roman spat, glaring at Thomas when he still didn’t move out of the way.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Maybe we should hear him out first?” Thomas suggested. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman looked at him, offended. “You’re taking </span>
  <em>
    <span>his </span>
  </em>
  <span>side?!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thomas threw up his hands defensively. “I’m not taking sides! I just don’t think we need a sword to sort this out!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“After everything he’s done, he’s lucky I don’t kill him right now!” Roman pointed his sword at Remy, who was backing away. Roman sighed in frustration and sheathed his sword. “But fine, we’ll do it your way. Here’s what’s going to happen: you’re going to wake up my son, then you’re going to wake up my husband, and god knows what I’m going to do after that but </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>are never coming near my family again.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remy opened his mouth to speak, but Roman cut him off. “No, you don’t get to defend yourself! You have no idea what you put my family through,” he started to get choked up, “what you put </span>
  <em>
    <span>me </span>
  </em>
  <span>through. You didn’t even have the nerve to tell me yourself, hiding all this time like a </span>
  <em>
    <span>coward-</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remy scoffed. “Yeah, okay, </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’m </span>
  </em>
  <span>a coward?” Thomas pleaded with him silently not to continue with whatever he was about to say, but Remy did anyway. “Sure, I’ll admit to that. But at least I didn’t ditch everyone and leave the kingdom in the hands of your brother, who took the whole abandonment thing personally and took it out on… who was it again?” He pretended to think. “Oh right, everyone!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman finally pushed past Thomas and stood face to face with Remy. “I’m well aware of the mistakes I’ve made, but you weren’t even here! Why do you care?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s because of him, okay?!” Remy snapped, pointing at Thomas. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman and Thomas exchanged confused looks. “What does Thomas have to do with this?” Roman asked, still guarded. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You still don’t get it?” Remy glanced over at Thomas, who shook his head. “Okay, so. One night I’m just hanging out around my house, minding my own business, when Thomas shows up on my doorstep after getting banished for just mentioning </span>
  <em>
    <span>your </span>
  </em>
  <span>name.” Remy glared at Roman. “You see that scar across his eye? Your brother gave him that. Maybe that’s not your fault, sure, whatever! But where were you, huh? You just vanished one day without saying anything, and then one day this guy shows up and happens to mention that he’s your </span>
  <em>
    <span>husband</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So maybe I got a little pissed off that after all this time of my boyfriend thinking his </span>
  <em>
    <span>best friend </span>
  </em>
  <span>had died or something, it turns out that you just ran off and made a new family and got your perfect ending, leaving everyone else in shambles. And maybe I used a little sleep magic when I pushed him back through the portal. What’s your point? If you think about it, maybe it’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>your </span>
  </em>
  <span>fault that Logan’s not here!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman, who had steadily been growing more and more angry as Remy had kept talking, drew his fist back and punched him in the face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remy reeled from the force of it, his glasses flying off his face and cracking as they impacted the ground. A bruise was starting to form on his left eye where Roman’s fist had landed. Thomas stepped forward to intervene, but Remy held out his hand and gestured for him to stay back. Roman took another swing at Remy, though this one was a lot sloppier and missed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thomas immediately realised what Remy was doing. “Remy, don’t do this,” he half warned, half pleaded.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remy didn’t pay him any attention as Roman drew his sword once more. Roman’s breathing was becoming heavier as he struggled to keep his eyes open, and he missed by a wide margin as he swung his sword towards Remy. He lost his grip and the sword slipped onto the ground with a loud clatter. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re going to regret this,” Roman said in a low, tired voice, before his eyes finally closed and he fell backwards, fast asleep. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thomas had to rush forward and catch him. He lowered Roman’s form to the ground, almost cradling it as he looked up at Remy. “Rem, you have to stop.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remy exhaled shakily and collapsed into a heap on the floor. He looked exhausted. “I think it’s a bit late for that, babe.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0022"><h2>22. Chapter 22</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“What do you mean, it’s too late? Rem…” Thomas sighed. “Why didn’t you just tell me? We could’ve fixed all of this a long time ago if you had.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remy gestured to Roman’s sleeping form. “Yeah uh, I don’t know if you noticed, but I didn’t exactly think this through very well.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thomas ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. “All that stuff you said… of course I missed Roman, but you took revenge on him on my behalf? You don’t get to make that call Remy. You know that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remy scooted closer to one of the bookshelves and slumped against it. “I know. Ugh, of course I know. I really messed this up.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Just then, Patton and Janus appeared. Patton gasped when he saw his dad being held by Thomas, lying unconscious and rushed beside him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Janus just sighed. “We may have overheard the sound of things getting out of hand.” He gave Remy a pointed look.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know what you’re gonna say, so don’t bother,” Remy said quietly. “You’re gonna say ‘I told you so’, I get it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton suddenly burst into tears. Thomas lay Roman carefully on the ground and pulled Patton close to him, rubbing his back up and down in a soothing motion. Patton hid his face against Thomas’ chest and quietly asked, “is Remy gonna put me to sleep too?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remy, at the very least, had the decency to look remorseful - in fact, he looked pretty heartbroken. “No! N-no, I’m not… I wouldn’t…” He looked helpless as Patton continued crying. “I’m gonna fix this, okay? I’m gonna fix everything. And you’re gonna be the first one out of a lot of people to hear this today, and I know sorry doesn’t cut it but… god, I’m so sorry.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton sniffled and looked up at Remy, tears still streaming down his face. “R-really? You’re gonna wake up my family?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remy nodded fervently. “Yeah. And when I say everyone, I mean your papa too.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton broke into another sob, but there was a small smile on his face. “I really miss him.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remy also looked like he was on the verge of tears. “I know. I’m sorry. But you won’t have to miss him for too much longer, alright?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay,” Patton nodded, wiping his nose on his sleeve. “Remy?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mmm?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I forgive you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remy let out a pained noise, his tears spilling down his cheeks. “That’s… y-you don’t have to. I don’t think your dad or your brother will.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton smiled at him. “I know. But I still do anyway.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh… th-thanks.” Remy took in a big, sniffly breath. “Uuuugh I broke my shades so I can’t even pretend to be cool about this!” He desperately wiped the tears off his cheeks. “Cool cool, so here’s how we’re gonna do this. I’m gonna wake Roman up, and then I’m gonna leave, like, pretty quickly so he doesn’t kill me, and go wake up V. Logan though… Logan’s kinda tricky. Obviously I didn’t find a way of breaking the three day limit, so the only other way is to bring Logan back here.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Which I suggested you do from the very beginning,” Janus mentioned smugly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remy rolled his eyes and groaned. “Alright, I get it, you were right. Happy now?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I am, actually,” Janus said, smirking. “It’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>so</span>
  </em>
  <span> good to hear you finally admit it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Anyways,” Remy continued, “Pat, you’re gonna have to go with your dad and help him get your papa back here, okay?” Patton nodded. “Cool, so then once you guys have Logan we’ll meet you in the clearing with Virge. Now someone reassure me that this plan isn’t terrible.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thomas nodded. “Sounds fine to me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It actually does, for once,” Janus agreed. “I’m almost impressed.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wow, seriously?” Remy said, surprised. “Okay. Cool.” He glanced down at Roman, knowing what he had to do next. “Kinda wish someone could do this next part for me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah, but then you wouldn’t have to go through the painful lesson of cleaning up your own messes, now would you?” Janus pointed out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remy sighed, and gestured for everyone to stand back. He knelt beside Roman’s sleeping form, placing his hands on Roman’s chest and closing his eyes. He took a deep breath, and as he did Roman did the same. Remy quickly stood up and backed away from him as Roman’s eyes started to move beneath his eyelids.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remy walked over and stood next to Janus. “C’mon Jan, I think it’d be better if I left before he fully comes to his senses.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Janus nodded in agreement, and the two of them left Patton and Thomas to watch over Roman as his eyes gradually opened. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman took a few minutes to properly wake up, looking groggily at the ceiling and trying to remember where he was and what he was doing there. He then looked over to Patton and Thomas who were sitting next to him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Patton? Thomas? What are…” His eyes shot open fully, finally coming to his senses. He jerked awake and sat up in an upright position. “Remy! Where is he? He put me to sleep, did he get away?! We have to go-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Whoa, calm down Roman,” Thomas said, placing a hand on his shoulder. “We had a talk with him while you were asleep, he didn’t get away.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman finally noticed that Patton had been crying. “Oh Patton sweetheart, are you alright?” He cooed, holding Patton’s face gently. “I’m okay now, no need to worry! Remy didn’t do anything to you, did he?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton shook his head. “No, I’m okay. He said he’s gonna wake Virgil and Papa up!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...Really? Are you sure?” Roman looked to Thomas for confirmation, who nodded and explained the whole plan to Roman. Once he’d finished, Roman seemed at a loss for words. “So he really is…? Oh.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’d better get going,” Thomas said, standing up and pulling Roman to his feet with him. “I’ll go on ahead and wait for you at the clearing. There’s some things I need to talk to Remy about, and I don’t think Virgil’s going to want to wait too long once he finds out what’s happening.” The three of them headed out of the archives, down the hall and into the throne room. Just before Patton and Roman stepped through the portal, Thomas smiled at them and said, “I can’t wait to finally meet Logan.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman smiled back at him. “I honestly can’t wait either.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As soon they materialised back in Virgil’s room, Roman couldn’t help but feel like it was a shame that Virgil wasn’t there with them. He’d see him soon though, he reassured himself. Both of them. He told Patton to grab his coat and make sure he took the storybook with him, since it would be easier transporting Logan straight from his room in the hospital into Reverie. They quickly got ready and hopped into Roman’s car. The whole trip to the hospital, Roman had to restrain himself from speeding. It was the longest twenty minutes of his life. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Finally, they arrived at the hospital. Roman didn’t want to draw any attention to himself, but he couldn’t help but speedwalk quickly through the hospital, only slowing down enough so that Patton could keep up with him. Patton had the book clutched tightly to his chest, as if he was afraid if he let go it would disappear and they’d lose this chance they’d been given to finally have their whole family back together. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luckily there were no nurses in Logan’s room when they arrived. Logan was laying flat on his back, eyes closed and sleeping peacefully, just as had been for the past year, though not for much longer. Roman threw all caution to the wind and shut the door and began removing all the tubes that were plugged into Logan. Machines immediately started going off, and Roman just silently resolved to find some way to explain this to the nurses later. He slipped his arms underneath Logan’s body and picked him up. With his husband safely in his arms, he looked over to Patton and nodded. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton turned the key, and light filled the room. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When they appeared back in the clearing, Logan still tightly held in Roman’s arms, Remy, Thomas and Virgil were all waiting for them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil’s stared at Logan’s form as Roman laid him gently on the ground. “So we’re… really doing this?” He wandered over to Logan and knelt down next beside him. Patton and Roman were also kneeling next to him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman pulled Virgil into a tight hug and kissed his forehead. “Yes. We’re really doing this… aren’t we?” He looked expectantly at Remy. Somewhere deep down, Roman wanted to be mad at him, but his thoughts were all focused on Logan.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remy knelt down by Logan’s side, on the opposite side to his family. “Yeah. Let’s do it.” He placed his hands on Logan’s chest, just as he had done with Roman and Virgil, and took a deep breath. Logan did the same, but his eyes didn’t move.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman’s eyes shifted between Remy and Logan, confused. “Why isn’t it working?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remy remained fixated on Logan, a determined expression on his face. “He’s been in a pretty deep sleep for a long time. This’ll work, just give it a sec.” He took another deep breath, Logan copying as his eyes remained shut. Remy waits, then takes a final deep breath. This time, as Logan breathes, his eyes flutter open. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ve just had the strangest dream..” Logan mutters to himself, his voice hoarse. He sits up and looks around at all the people gathered around him looking down at him, then gingerly pats the grass beside him. “Hmm. Apparently I’m still having it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Before he can say anything else, he is wrapped up in the arms of his family, all of them with tears streaming down their faces. He furrows his brow in confusion. “What is happening?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman is beaming at him and plants a gentle kiss on his lips. “You’ve been asleep for more than a year, dearest.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Logan blinked at him, staring around at everyone else in confusion. “So am I not dreaming now?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman sighs happily. “No, Logan. This is real. I have so much to catch you up on.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0023"><h2>23. Chapter 23</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Despite being a magically-induced sleep, Logan’s family decided to give him some time to recover before they properly showed him Reverie. A month later, when he insisted he was well enough, they all took him on a grand tour and showed him all through the castle and the city. Logan remarked on many interesting things Roman had never noticed, which made him wonder all the more why he hadn’t brought Logan there sooner. Roman also got to introduce Logan to everyone, starting with Remus.</p><p>“Wow, I can’t believe you married such a nerd!” Remus said immediately upon meeting Logan, which made Roman almost regret it.</p><p>“Sorry about Remus, I know he can be a bit much sometimes,” Roman said to Logan later, after Remus was satisfied that he’d made a strong first impression.</p><p>“He didn’t bother me in the slightest,” Logan said. “I’ve had plenty of experience with you being, what’s the term… The Most?”</p><p>Roman let out an offended noise and shoved Logan gently, though he couldn’t help the smile on his face. Strangely, his banter with Logan had somehow been one of the things he’d missed the most. “That’s rich coming from Mr ‘I keep receipts of all the idiotic things my coworkers say’!”</p><p>Logan smirked. “I might need a new one of those soon once I return to work, as I am planning to.”</p><p>“Really?”</p><p>“Yes,” Logan nodded. “I am hoping that once I do, you might have more time to return to the theatre.”</p><p>Roman felt so happy he could cry. “Oh, I’ve missed acting so much! You have no idea how much that means to me!”</p><p>Logan smiled warmly at him. “I do have some idea, that’s why I’m suggesting it.” He leant towards Roman and planted a kiss on his cheek. Roman slipped his hand into Logan’s, swinging slightly as they walked. </p><p>After visiting the city and the castle, they wandered outside of the city walls and towards a large lake that sat at the bottom of the hill near the mountains. Janus’ tower could even be seen in the distance. Roman had invited everyone to join their family for a picnic beside the lake, Janus included (upon Remus’ insistence). Well, almost everyone - Roman still hadn’t quite forgiven Remy, and Thomas had confessed that the two of them had broken up after the whole ‘putting everyone to sleep’ incident. Thomas was now living back in the city as full-time captain of the royal guard, and Roman hadn’t cared to ask what Remy was up to now.</p><p>Janus and Thomas were waiting for them by the lake, food already spread out on a large blanket enough for more than seven people.</p><p>“Remy said to say hello, by the way,” Janus had mentioned to Thomas before Roman and his family had arrived. “He agreed it would be best if he didn’t show up to our little gathering today.”</p><p>Thomas sighed. “Yeah, that’s probably for the best.” He glanced over at Janus. “This is kind of a weird thing to ask, but… is he doing okay?”</p><p>Janus hummed. “I’m sure he’d appreciate the concern, but he’s doing fine, all things considered. We’ve been… talking regularly.”</p><p>Thomas looked surprised. “Oh? So you two are on good terms now?”</p><p>“I never held any contempt for him, whatever he may have thought,” Janus explained. “It’s a complicated friendship, to say the least. But yes, we have made amends, even if that process will take a much longer time for everyone else.”</p><p>After everyone else arrived, Janus moved away from Thomas to make room, sitting off to the side. He didn’t quite feel like he belonged amongst this group yet, so he watched as everyone else made conversation. Patton was the first to notice Janus not joining in, so he stood up from where he was sitting with Virgil and Logan and made a beeline for him, plopping himself down next to Janus.</p><p>“Ah… hello, Patton,” Janus greeted, a little awkwardly. </p><p>“Hey Janus! Is it umm… okay if I try your hat on?” Patton asked politely.</p><p>Janus looked at him doubtfully. “I’m not sure if it will fit you.”</p><p>“Please?” Patton pleaded, using his biggest, saddest eyes to try and sway him.</p><p>Janus sighed in defeat and took his bowler hat off, placing it on Patton’s head. Sure enough it was too big, and slipped down over his eyes. “Oh, my mistake. It fits perfectly,” Janus said sarcastically, causing Patton to giggle. Janus also smiled softly, until he caught Remus staring at him, grinning. </p><p>“You’ve got hat hair!” Remus called over to him. Janus grumbled and tried to smooth it down. Meanwhile, Patton had wandered off with Janus’ hat still over his eyes. Virgil noticed and, worried that Patton was going to trip or run into something, ran off to join him. </p><p>Logan was now sitting by himself, so Roman scooted over away from Remus to join him. They watched as their kids played together. “I’m not sure if I have expressed this yet, but you did a good job taking care of them while I was gone,” Logan remarked.</p><p>Roman shrugged. “Oh, it was nothing! They’re good kids, so it wasn’t hard!” Seeing that Logan was giving him a knowing look, he added, “But it was not having you there with me. I’m glad you’re back now.”</p><p>“Regardless, you did a wonderful job. I am proud of you.”</p><p>Roman gave him a grateful smile, then rested his head on Logan’s shoulder. He was starting to feel that, finally, everything was okay again.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>if you've read this all the way through, thank you!! while the main story is done, I might write some oneshots in this universe eventually if there's enough interest, so let me know if that's something you'd like to see! c:</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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